Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North, has urged Nigerian governors opposing President Bola Tinubu’s new tax reform bills to engage in dialogue and negotiation rather than outright rejection.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television program, Oshiomhole emphasized the importance of public discussion on the bills.
The tax reform proposals, introduced by President Tinubu, have faced significant backlash. Critics include the 36 governors under the National Economic Council (NEC) and the 19 northern governors, who have openly called for the withdrawal of specific sections of the bills from the National Assembly.
Oshiomhole responded to these criticisms by arguing that withdrawing the bills entirely would stifle meaningful debate. He encouraged stakeholders to utilize public hearings as a platform for constructive discussions.
“We are making these laws for the Nigerian people.
“And therefore it is the Nigerian people who should look at these things constructively and say: ‘Is it in our interest?’
“But in the real world, nobody gets what he wants; you get what you negotiate and it is more so in a democracy,” he said.
He dismissed claims that the proposed reforms would favor certain regions over others, warning that framing the debate along ethnic or religious lines would undermine reason and objectivity.
Oshiomhole also highlighted that the legislative process allows for amendments, ensuring the bills reflect the collective input of lawmakers.
“I am not a stammerer and debate is for those who can argue. And that is what the parliament is about.
“The good thing is that the president has not sent to us a law; what he has sent to us is a set of proposals under a bill, for us to look at, discuss, debate, if necessary, negotiate, and alter it as we want and pass to him a piece of legislation or bill that attract the two chambers of the National Assembly.
“I will be surprised if the president thinks that whatever he forwarded to the National Assembly, will be back the way he proposed it. Even the Appropriation Act, it never goes back the way it came in. I do not know.
“It will be a sad day for democracy if we get to a point in which whatever bill the executive brings to the National Assembly, the National Assembly stamps it and returns it to the executive the way it brought it,” he added.
