A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Sowunmi, has opined that President Bola Tinubu is responsible for the stiff opposition that has greeted the tax reform bills.
Henzodaily reports that the new tax bills introduced by Tinubu’s administration have generated widespread controversy and pushback from many Nigerians, including the 36 state governors under the aegis of the National Economic Council (NEC).
Similarly, some Nothern governors unequivocally rejected sections of the bills.
However, Sowunmi, during an interview with Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, faulted Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for appointing his tribesmen as finance minister, revenue boss, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and tax reform chair.
He stated that though the tax bills were good, the President created distrust and made other regions nervous due to the exclusion of their kinsmen from his economic and tax teams.
The PDP chieftain added that Tinubu needed to tell the northerners about the tax reform bills in clear language.
He said, “They created it by themselves. You can’t have FIRS chairman Yoruba, finance (minister) Yoruba, Customs (boss) Yoruba, CBN (governor) Yoruba. You can’t do that. And then suddenly, the Yoruba people came and said we have a new tax regime. They (people of other tribes) will be nervous.
“People are not in the National Assembly or the Senate not to protect the interest of their people; that’s why they are there. They are representatives of their people. That’s why the pushbacks will come.
“You may mean well but let me have some of my own seated at the table to be sure that you mean well. Nobody will sit at the table and cause injury to his tribe.
“I think the President needs to tell them in very clear language that I won’t be sitting here as president and refusing to do the right thing for the country only because you want to threaten me with elections. When we get to the bridge of election, we will cross it.”