The Progressive Northern Youth Forum, PNYF has expressed support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s position on the controversial tax reform bills.
The group said Tinubu’s rejection of the recommendation by the National Economic Council, NEC on the bill was a good move.
DAILY POST recalls that NEC had during its 144th meeting, led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, suggested that the bills be withdrawn following the opposition from northern stakeholders.
The recommendation came after governors from the 19 northern states, along with prominent traditional leaders from the region, collectively decided to oppose the tax reform bills.
However, President Tinubu, in a statement issued on Friday by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga, shunned the recommendation and urged the NEC to allow the process to run its full course.
Reacting, PNYF, in a statement issued on Saturday by its Secretary General, Abdulkadir Bala, backed President Tinubu’s decision.
Bala emphasized that the position taken by the Northern Governors’ Forum does not accurately represent the views of the people of the region regarding the tax reform bills.
“The Forum’s call for the withdrawal of these bills does not represent the views of the people in the region.
“If the governors genuinely cared for their constituents, they would have taken advantage of the opportunity to provide input and propose changes during the legislative process, rather than calling for the withdrawal of the bills from the National Assembly.
“What is the Northern Governors’ Forum afraid of? Clearly, they are afraid of taking responsibility.
“They want to continue being financially sustained by the Federal Government without making any efforts to develop their own revenue-generating initiatives.
“There is no evidence to show that the current Northern governors have effectively utilized all the allocations they have received from President Tinubu’s federal government”, the statement added.
Tax Reform Bill: Northern group backs Tinubu’s rejection of NEC’s decision