Zulum Insists Only Tinubu’s Lagos Will Benefit From Tax Reform Bills
The Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has insisted that only Lagos State, where President Bola Tinubu was a governor for eight years, would benefit from the tax reform bills undergoing passage at the National Assembly.
Tinubu was Lagos State governor from 1999-2007 and has continued to determine who becomes governor and who is elected into any position in the state including federal positions and appointments.
His recent tax reform bills have generated a lot of controversies with opposition from the north threatening the president that he stands to lose 2027 elections in the north if he goes ahead with the bills.
Recently, Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum has been very vocal reminding the president of the votes he got in 2023 which saw him elected.
A few days ago the governor came out gun blazing warning that the tax reforms would impoverish the north while Lagos State would be the major and only beneficiary.
While that was yet to settle down, the governor appeared on Channels TV on Sunday night and doubled down on his position although clarifying that he was not an enemy of the President.
“I am a strong member of the APC. If you are to count two governors who have been in support of Tinubu from 2019 to 2023, you can mention Prof Zulum.
“I was the first governor to come out publicly to say that power must go to the South,” Zulum sought to explain why he is against Tinubu’s contentious policy, which many in the north have said is against them.
He said, “Unfortunately, the President was told by many that the North is against him. About 60.2 per cent of his votes came from the North.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about this tax issue,” he stated.
He explained that, “During the NEC, we advised the Federal Government to pause for a moment to have a deeper consultation with stakeholders. That was our own statement.
“But later on, people have turned it upside down. I want you to believe that our consultation is central to democracy, and in a democratic setting,” he added.
He further said, “We are begging for the right to be consulted. This is only what has happened.”
According to the governor, the entire North, South East and South South and some states in the South West would also not benefit from the reform based on calculation.
He said,“I am not an economist. But based on the calculations we did, only Lagos will benefit from this scheme.
“However, we have had a series of consultations with the FIRS team and had a meeting with the tax team of Lagos State.
“Lagos told me that they would lose a lot if this were implemented. They said, ‘We did our research and concluded we will lose.’
“Then why are we in a rush? Not only Northern Nigeria but also the Southeast, South-South, and even the Southwest will be severely affected. Only Lagos will benefit from this scheme.
“But what we are telling them is to give us time. Why are we in a rush? Let us pause and have a deeper consultation because we are in a democracy,” he added.
He emphasised, “We should look at the nitty-gritty of these bills before passing into law. This is our only bone of contention.
“Then, people started saying that Prof Zulum and the governors were against the president. This is a democratic setting.
“People want us to run a garrison democracy. Most of this money will go to Lagos. We need more time,” he added.
Zulum Insists Only Tinubu’s Lagos Will Benefit From Tax Reform Bills is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
