Tax reforms irrelevant to Nigerians present needs, says ex-presidential candidate
The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 2023 elections, Adewole Adebayo, has decried the controversy trailing the proposed tax reforms bill before the National Assembly.
Adewole said that there is huge opposition to the bill by Nigerians because it is not relevant to the present needs of the people.
According to him, the bill was introduced in the National Assembly when the people were hungry, adding, “What the people need is food and not tax reforms.”
Speaking in Ilorin, Kwara Etate, with reporters on the sidelines of the presentation of a book titled “Politics, Politicians and Christianity” written by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Iyiola Oyedepo, on Saturday, Adebayo said that the country leaders should be accountable to the people.
He said, “The Tax Reforms Bill is not presently relevant to the people. It is not that of the people. It is a series of bills put together. People don’t know what is inside it. They want to introduce new tax while they have not accounted for what they have collected.
‘I have not called for the jettisoning of the tax reforms bill, so whether they pass the bill or not is not relevant to the people. What the people need is food. Good governance is what is needed everywhere in the country.”
He also supported the review of the Nigerian constitution, adding that the review of the character of those in power is even more important.
He said, “The debate over tax reform bills is about those who want to take custody of people’s money. It is not about those who own the money. But they are fighting as to whether President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should hold the money in Abuja or not.
“That is a political class argument. The people are asking why the political class is overfed, and the masses are hungry. They are buying new presidential planes and building new houses while the people are hungry.”
Adebayo said that his party would have done things differently if it was in power, saying, “If SDP had been in power, it would have been a different ball game. SDP government would have governed the country according to the constitution. Any political party that follows the constitution will govern well. It is not about the name of the party.”
He called for a review of the constitution for the country to have good governance, adding that the 1999 Constitution did not stipulate what it operators should do when they get to the office
