The president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, has called on Nigerians to avoid sentiments and politics in dealing with the tax reform bills initiated by President Bola Tinubu.
Declaring his position on the bills, Osifo said the proposals are good.
He, however, cautioned against bringing politics, ethnicity and religion into such matters.
Speaking on Thursday during Channels Television’s Politics Today, the TUC president said the undertones against the bills are there, but for the sake of the country’s development, sentiments should be put aside.
“Those undertones are clearly there. It started from the Northern Governors Forum, it metamorphosed into the General Governors’ Forum and it went into the National Economic Council.
“At this stage of our development, we should be wary. We shouldn’t politicise everything. Bringing in tribal talks or ethnicity, I don’t think this is right,” he said.
OsunDailyNG recalls President Tinubu, on October 3, presented the four bills to the National Assembly for deliberations and passage.
The bills are the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024 -SB.583; the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024- SB.584; and the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024- SB. 585; and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024 – SB.586.
The bills have generated a lot of controversies across the country, with some stakeholders, including governors, expressing open antagonism for the bill and calling for its withdrawal of the bills to create room for more consultation.
