Tinubu Tax: The North’s Anger Grows as Youths Att@ck the Deputy Senate President.

The North’s irritation towards the tax reform bill passed by the National Assembly has risen as the northern youths att@ck Senator Barau Jibrin, the Deputy Senate President. This attack was made yesterday, the 30th of November, as they accused him of being insensitive to the region to which he is indigenous.

The youths, representing the 19 northern states, described the bills as “anti-Northern,” saying it would be detrimental to the economy of the North. They claimed that the lawmaker knew that the bill would relegate the economy of the north and fail to serve their interest, seeing that he represents the Kano North Senatorial District, a district in the north.

Ever since the bill was proposed and passed by the National Assembly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the lawmakers of the northern extraction have been expressing worries. Even the northern governors, the northern elders, and the northern traditional leaders.

The executive arm of government had said the bills would ensure uniformity in tax revenue administration across Nigeria, eliminate double taxation, use taxation to encourage private sector investment in critical industries, and boost disposable incomes through targeted tax exemptions.

The four bills are the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024-SB.583; the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024-SB.584; the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024-SB.585; and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024-SB.586.

The bill was passed for its second reading in the Senate last week, despite objections from some lawmakers. According to one Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, a Senate leader, the bill serves as “a significant move to overhaul the country’s tax system.”.

All facets of the North’s leadership, however, oppose the laws since they believe they are detrimental to the socioeconomic advancement of the area. The Northern Youth Assembly’s attack on Senator Jibrin, the number two senator in the Senate, is the most recent example of the North’s opposition. The fact that the Deputy Senate President presided over the meeting where the legislation passed Second Reading infuriated them the most.

In an open letter signed by Ali Mohammed Idris and Abdulhafiz Garba, President and Secretary, respectively, of the Northern Youth Assembly, the youths said yesterday that Jibrin’s position on the bills doesn’t represent the interest of the North. The letter reads: “The Northern Youth Assembly (Majalisar Matasan Arewa), on behalf of the 19 northern states leadership of the assembly, wishes to express our unequivocal disappointment and dismay in you, following your action towards the scaling for the second reading of an evil tax reform bill, which would certainly undermine the North and further relegate the region economically and commercially.”

“Your support for the passage of the proposed evil tax reform bill put forth by the Tinubu administration is the highest order of your insensitivity to the economic and commercial plight of your constituency, Kano State, and the entire Northern Nigeria.”

“As representatives of the Northern Nigerian youths, we believe the proposed tax reform bill, in its current form, would surely disproportionately affect the economic livelihoods and aspirations of our people, and it is of course without taking into cognisance the current economic reality in the country.”

Conclusively, they added: “We wish to finally advise you to change your ways before the entire people in the North, old and young, children and women are mobilised to place their curse on you.’’