Prof Babagana Zulum, Borno State Governor, has stated that President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills will favour only Lagos and Rivers states.
Speaking on Channels TV programme on Sunday, he said the position was based on research and calculations by northern governors.
The governor has been critical of the tax reform bills, saying the northern states are at a disadvantage and Tinubu should suspend the bills.
“On this tax issue, there are a lot of misconceptions. We felt that the VAT provision in the tax law. Based on the calculations that we did, only Lagos and Rivers States will benefit from this scheme.
“We did our own research and concluded that we would lose,” Zulum stated.
He added, “Why are we in a rush? We advised the Federal Government to take a pause and expunge some of the clauses that are inimical to Northern Nigeria.
“What we are saying is that give more time, let us do a deeper consultation to understand the nitty-gritty of this tax regime before passing it into law.”
Zulum explained that if the bill scales through the National Assembly, most states would be shortchanged, leaving Lagos as the primary beneficiary.
Despite these concerns, the tax reform bills passed their second reading in the Senate on 28 November.
The bills include the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024; the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024; the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024; and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024.
The governor rejected claims that northern governors are opposing Tinubu’s administration, noting his history of supporting Tinubu. “I am a strong member of APC. If you can count two governors before 2019 and 2023 who were in support of Tinubu, you can mention Governor Zulum. I was the first governor to come out publicly and say that power must go to the South.”
He dismissed rumours of northern opposition, stating, “Unfortunately, the President was told by many that the North was against him. 60.2 per cent of his votes came from the north.”
Zulum concluded, “Our consultation is central to democracy, and in a democratic setting, we are begging for the right to be consulted.”