By Miriam Humbe
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, has expressed unwavering support for the Tax Reforms Bills.
Senator Akume described it as visionary legislation designed to revamp Nigeria’s economy.
Segun Imohiosen, the Director, Information & Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (OSGF) disclosed this in a statement signed on Monday.
Speaking on TVC’s Politics on Sunday, Senator Akume emphasized that the current tax system was over 50 years in operation and failed to provide maximum benefits to Nigerians.
He urged that comments on the bills should be assessed based on its intent, purpose, and credibility, rather than sectional or primordial feelings, citing its nationalistic and pro-poor in nature.
The SGF said: “Solutions to complex problems are not as instant as instant coffee.
“The Federal Government and all tiers of governments have to come together to ensure prosperity in the land, he noted.”
Addressing issues surrounding fuel subsidy removal, he said that its removal was the best decision taken by the Federal Government and in the best interest of the people.
Akume said that the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses and Conversion Kits were some of the many alternatives already put in place to cushion the effect of the removal and stabilise the economy.
Speaking on Local Government Autonomy, the SGF assured that the 10-man Inter-ministerial committee to enforce the Supreme Court Judgement on Financial Autonomy to Local Governments would soon submit its report in compliance to the ruling of the apex Court.
He said that the Local Government Autonomy was not arbitrary, but pursuant to the dictates of the Constitution of Nigeria which stressed the autonomy of the three tiers of Government.
On the implementation of the Oronsaye report, Senator Akume said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had taken a bold step to commence the implementation of some parts of the report, as when the report was submitted by the previous Government without taking any action.
He said that policy decisions had to be fine-tuned before full implementation to avoid duplication of functions among MDAs and in the best interest of Government and the people.
He called on Nigerians to unite and give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu the required support in order to deliver on his mandates for the prosperity of all Nigerians.
