Tax reform bills not suspended –Senate Leader
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), on Thursday, countered the Deputy Senate President, Barau I. Jibrin (APC, Kano North), saying the Senate has not suspended debate on the tax reform bills. Senator Barau, who presided over plenary on Wednesday announced that the Senate committee on finance chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East) […]
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), on Thursday, countered the Deputy Senate President, Barau I. Jibrin (APC, Kano North), saying the Senate has not suspended debate on the tax reform bills.
Senator Barau, who presided over plenary on Wednesday announced that the Senate committee on finance chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East) was to “put on hold further action on its public hearing and other issues until we resolve these issues.”
Barau also announced that the newly constituted Senate Committee chaired by the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South) would meet with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) on Wednesday to deliberate on contentious issues raised about the bills.
He said, “All sides will be given the opportunity and we shall resolve the issues before anything is allowed to go.”
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But reacting during plenary on Thursday, Senator Bamidele said there was no such resolution that the committee on finance should suspend work on the bills including public hearing.
The Ekiti senator who came under Order 42 of the Senate rules said he was shocked when it went viral in the news that the Senate had suspended debate and everything about the bills, especially when he watched a television interview with the Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, on the “suspension.”
He said, “Where was it stated that we have suspended our proceedings on tax reform bills? We did not. This Senate did not suspend and does not intend to suspend deliberations on the tax reform bills.
“The bills are executive bills and can only be withdrawn by the President, and there is no reason for the withdrawal of these bills.”
He said the Senate Committee on Finance was still working to beat its 6-week deadline for legislative action on the bills, including conducting a public hearing, stressing that the bills were very much alive.
Commenting, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the plenary said, “The moment a bill passes second reading at the Senate, it means it is alive. Now, it is for the committee on finance to commence the process of consultations and public hearing.”
Akpabio said the Senator Moro led committee is an internal mechanism of the Senate, stressing that “We are elected to work for the interest of Nigerians.”
The tax reform bills have generated controversies in the country since they were transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 3, 2024 for consideration and passage.