The governor of Bauchi, Bala Mohammed, has said that President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills are synonymous to “calls for anarchy”.
According to Channels Television, the governor spoke in Bauchi at an event to celebrate Christmas festivities.
Mohammed, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), emphasized that the bills are skewed to favour one region of the country.
“To the tax reforms — it is not a good policy for northern Nigeria because we are not going to get money to pay you salaries,” he said.
“They must listen, otherwise, they are calling for anarchy and that is not good. We voted for the president in the state and other states.
“They must listen to us! They must not come up with a policy that favours only one state in the country.
“It is not about religion. It is not about tribe. It is about national unity. It is about national hegemony.
“We are all about good leadership, and we will continue to urge them for the time being. But if the situation persists, they will see our real colour.
“We are going to fight for it.”
President Tinubu, on the 3rd of October, asked the national assembly to consider and pass the bills.
The legislations is made up of the Nigeria tax bill, Nigeria tax administration bill, Nigeria Revenue Service establishment bill, and the Joint Revenue Board establishment bill.
Among the legislations is one proposing a new valued added tax (VAT) sharing formula for the federation which has been vehemently rejected, particularly by northern stakeholders.
But during his first presidential media chat, Tinubu persistent that the tax reform bills have come to stay.
He stated that the reforms were initiated to “eliminate colonial-based assumptions” in Nigeria’s tax environment.
Tinubu also said that the country can no longer use old methods to combat current economic challenges.