By Eze Okechukwu, Abuja

Both Chambers of the National Assembly Thursday received four different executive bills fromPresident Bola Tinubu yesterday forwarded four different Executive Bills to both chambers of the National Assembly, for far reaching tax reforms; one of which was the one seeking the renaming of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).

The name changing bill for FIRS as contained in the letter read on the floor of the Senate by Godswill Akpabio, the Sena President was titled: ” The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill which according to President Tinubu, seeks to repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, No. 13, 2007 and establishes the Nigeria Revenue Service, to assess, collect and account for revenue accruable to the government of the federation.Other reforms bill in the letter titled: “Transmission of Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Bills to the National Assembly”, were; the Nigeria Tax Bill which seeks to provide a consolidated fiscal framework for taxation in Nigeria; the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, which seeks to provide a clear and concise legal framework for the fair, consistent and efficient administration of all the tax laws to facilitate ease of tax compliance, reduce tax disputes and optimize revenue, the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill which aims at establishing the Joint Revenue Board, the Tax Appeal Tribunal and the Office of The Tax Ombudsman for the harmonization, coordination and settlement of disputes arising from revenue administration in Nigeria.According to the President, the proposed tax bill presents substantial benefits to a library, government connectives and economic growth by enhancing tax payers compliance, strengthening fiscal institutions, and fostering a more effective and transparent fiscal regime.”I am confident that the bill when passed will encourage investment, boost consumer spending and stimulate Nigeria’s economic growth”, he stressed.

From Dan Amasingha, Minna

Niger state governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago has submitted a supplementary budget of N213, 737, 470, 338.00 to the State House of Assembly.The proposed Supplementary budget captures provisions for the new N70, 000 National Minimum Wage for civil servants in the state.

Announcing the receipt of the Governor’s correspondence on the floor of the House at plenary session on Thursday, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abdulmalik Sarkin Daji said the supplementary budget came along with three other correspondences to the legislators.The Speaker emphasised the importance of the proposed 2024 Supplementary Budget, highlighting its potential to stimulate economic activities in the state due to the anticipated increase in funds. He stated that the budget would be considered by the House and subsequently passed into law.The recurrent expenditure is set at N36, 859,819,029.12, while the capital expenditure stands at N176, 877,651,108.88.In addition to the supplementary budget, the House also received the 2024 proposed revised budget, submitted by Governor Bago for review and approval. The governor highlighted the necessity of revising the budget to align with current economic realitiess, citing factors such as the removal of fuel subsidies, inflation, and the devaluation of the naira.The revised budget aims to support the government’s development initiatives and provide essential social services to the citizens.Bago also submitted the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF and FSP) 2025-2027 for the House’s deliberation and approval, in accordance with the State Fiscal Responsibility Law (FRL) 2010 Section 13(i) b.In addition to the request, the governor nominated Alh Ahmed Abubakar for the position of Auditor-General for Niger State, subject to the House’s screening and confirmation.

By Johnson Eyiangho, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the 64th Independent Day Speech by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as “False performance claims and empty promises” scripted to deceive Nigerians.

The PDP in a statement by its Spokesman, Hon.

Debo Ologunagba also described the President’s speech as a complete waste of time as it did not address issues or proffer any solution to the myriads of economic and security hurting Nigerians.

The statement said the speech confirmed Tinubu’s insensitivity towards the plight and demands by Nigerians, adding it was an indication that there is no hope in sight under the APC-led government.

“The failure of the speech to respond to the cries of millions of Nigerians that President Tinubu eases their suffering by reviewing life-suffocating policies of his government also validates concerns in the public space of an emerging totalitarianism where certain individuals or group of individuals are benefitting from the travail of the people.

“It is indeed shocking that Mr. President’s speech practically trivialized the very grave issues of pervasive economic hardship, unemployment, acute poverty, widespread hunger and starvation in our country- for which Nigerians took to the streets in August this year- by claiming that about 10% of Nigerians have been plunged into hunger when confirmed reports show that over 100 million Nigerians can no longer afford their daily meals and other basic necessities of life under the APC watch.

“Equally appalling is Mr. President’s irreconcilable assurances of micro-economic improvement, lower cost of living and food sufficiency, when in reality his administration has failed to lower the price of fuel; the key driver of our nation’s economy, failed to inject resources into the productive sector to boost employment, stem the slide of the Naira and made no tangible investment in food production in any part of the country” the statement said.

It said that the President’s failure to listen to Nigeria to reduce the price of fuel, create employment and lift the value of the Naira by ending the profligacy in his government and direct resources to jumpstart the ailing productive sector showed that the APC administration is completely disconnected with Nigerians especially the youths.

It said the APC-led administration is determined to stifle democracy; the very fundamentals of any independent nation as it is loudly silent on the erosion of credible election and constant attacks on constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens.