Olayomi Koiki
Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of Nigeria’s Kano State, has asked the national assembly to reject any attempts to “cheat” the northern Nigeria with the recently proposed tax reform bills.
Kwankwaso spoke on Sunday at the convocation ceremony of Skyline University held at the Ammani Centre, Nassarawa GRA, Kano state.
The politician alleged that Lagos is “making a lot of efforts” to colonise the north.
He accused President Bola Tinubu, who hails from Lagos, of interfering in the emirship tussle in Kano, according to local news outlets.
“The Emir has just been installed at this difficult time in our country, especially in this part of the country, northern Nigeria,” Kwankwaso said.
“Today, we can see very clearly that there is a lot of effort from the Lagos axis to colonise this part of the country.
“Today, Lagos wouldn’t allow us to choose our Emir. Lagos has to come to the centre of Kano to put their own Emir.
“Today, we are aware that the Lagos young men are working so hard to impose and take away our taxes from Kano and this part of the country to Lagos.”
The Kano emirship is a subject of litigation.
Muhammadu Sanusi was reinstated as the Emir of Kano in May.
However, Aminu Bayero, who was removed to make way for Sanusi, has refused to step aside.
TAX REFORM BILLS
Kwankwaso, a presidential candidate in the 2023 elections under the platfrom New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), said many factory owners have been “forced” to relocate their headquarters to Lagos to make the south-west state claim “all the taxes”.
“We have seen the effort of some people to make the poor poorer and the rich richer. And I believe this is very dangerous for us,” he said.
“This part of the country today is suffering from a serious economic crunch, insecurity, poverty, hunger, and diseases.
“I believe this is not good for the cordial existence of our country. At this moment, I would like to call on all our national assembly members to keep their eyes open so that they don’t do anything that will cheat the people of northern Nigeria, especially here in Kano.
“We are witnesses to what happened during the first term of Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2003, where our members of the national assembly were bribed into collecting a huge sum of money to support onshore/offshore in the country.
“That law put a huge blow on our economy in northern Nigeria and all other states.”
BACKGROUND
On October 3, Tinubu asked the national assembly to consider and pass four tax reform bills.
The proposed legislations, which have sparked intense debate, include the Nigeria tax bill, the tax administration bill, and the joint revenue board establishment bill.
The president also asked the parliament to repeal the law establishing the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and replace it with the Nigeria Revenue Service.
On October 28, the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) opposed the bills, arguing that the proposed legislation would harm the region’s interests.
The governors asked the national assembly to reject the bills, demanding equitable and fair implementation of national policies and programmes across all regions.
The national economic council (NEC) also asked Tinubu to withdraw the bills to give room for consultations.
On November 1, Tinubu said the bills would not be withdrawn from the national assembly, noting that the proposed laws are designed to improve the lives of Nigerians and optimise existing tax frameworks.
TheCable News contributed to this report