Politics
PDP Urges Wider Consultation Over Tax Reform Bills
The PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, and the Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, wondered why President Bola Tinubu was in a hurry to pass the bills.
For more than two weeks, the bills have sparked widespread controversy with some northern lawmakers strongly opposed to the passage of the bills.
Following approval of the Federal Executive Council in October, President Tinubu transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration.
The Federal Government says the bills are aimed at overhauling the nation’s tax system.
They include the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.
The proposed legislation seeks to consolidate existing tax laws, establish clearer frameworks for tax administration, and create bodies like the Tax Appeal Tribunal and the Office of the Tax Ombudsman.
In an interview with The Tide source on Monday, Mr Abdullahi said the government needed to recognise the significant implications of the bills, stressing that the collective interest of the citizens should be the priority.
He stated, “My take aligns with the position of the majority of Nigerians. If the elite members of society, particularly the governors, are apprehensive, it calls for an expanded or broader review of the situation.
“The government needs to realise the great implications of this, as the collective interest of the citizenry should be at the forefront. Governors, being in a position to understand these implications, should be involved.”
He added, “However, I do not believe this should be a priority going forward for this country. Nigerians have been struggling since the arrival of this government, with skyrocketing inflation and harsh economic policies.
“The effects have been severe, whether it’s the floating of the naira, the removal of subsidies, or the numerous taxes that the country has had to deal with over the past year. It’s time for a change, as it’s not in the nation’s best interest to rush this process.
“If there are no sinister motives behind it, why the haste? We need more time for Nigerians to review and evaluate the implications of these decisions. If it truly serves our interest, it will be accepted naturally. However, the rush with which the government is pursuing this raises doubts about the sincerity of their intentions.”
Also speaking, Mr Osadolor acknowledged that the concept of tax reform was positive but urged the Federal Government not to rush the process.
He said, “There should have been wider and deeper consultations. You see, democracy is about the participation of everyone, not a Nazi-style approach to issues.
“If there is a large and strong call for more understanding, there is no need for a rush. Even in the past, without these tax reforms, we moved on.
“I don’t see how waiting for a week, two weeks, or even up to six months to explain this cause and gather input from other Nigerians would be a problem. It’s always good to consult and communicate with the people so that unnecessary conflicts can be avoided.
“The idea of the tax reforms is welcome, but there are clauses that I think people are unhappy with, and that I, too, find uncomfortable. So, I believe that if there had been more consultations, more public hearings, and more engagement with the states, many of these conversations and frictions across the country would not be happening now.”
Politics
Presidency Tackles Baba-Ahmed Over Anti-Tinubu Comments

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications’, Mr Sunday Dare, says no political “conspiracies” can prevent the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Mr Dare was responding to a recent statement by Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed, former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election.
Dr Baba-Ahmed had said that President Tinubu’s time in office was over and that the signs of his impending electoral defeat were becoming increasingly clear.
“I expect Tinubu to throw in the towel if he is that smart politician,” he had said.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Mr Dare described Dr Baba-Ahmed’s remark as “flawed, devoid of reason and empty”.
“His political logic is not fit for even a first-year political science class, and even then, they will query his postulations,” the statement read.
“He chose to base his political calculations on President Bola Tinubu not winning a second term given his antecedents and because Nigerians will decide at the polls, among other things. He conveniently avoided the substance of performance and capacity.
“Unfortunately, he chose to walk into a lane he was unfamiliar with and chose to confront a politician he is no match for.
“Politics is not for theorists or the faint-hearted nor the parochial. Politics is for those with a solid track record of performance, the courageous, far-sighted and gifted. Qualities he clearly lacks.
“Another thing Baba Ahmed lacks is the capacity for honesty because that is the only way to describe his claim that President Tinubu is not fulfilling his campaign promises. The positive impacts of the tough choices President Tinubu has made in the interest of the country are already being felt, and the economic indices are there to prove this”, he added.
Mr Dare said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently applauded President Tinubu for his economic reforms, noting that they have put the economy in a better position.
The presidential aide said President Tinubu “will win comfortably in 2027 no matter the volume of armchair theories and political conspiracies”.
He said President Tinubu’s performance “will clear the path” for his re-election.
“So, instead of running the circuit of television networks to peddle his poorly thought-out conjectures, Baba-Ahmed should seriously consider how to rehabilitate his failed political career, an intervention he urgently needs”.
Mr Dare asked Dr Baba-Ahmed to either keep quiet or leave politics for those “equipped” for the “complicated art”.
Politics
LP Crisis: Resign Or We Flush You Out, NLC Tells Abure

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, to resign from office to avert plunging the party into a crisis that could jeopardise its 2027 electioneering campaign.
Acting Chairman of the NLC Political Commission, Prof Theophilus Ndubuaku, said this in an interview with The Tide’s source.
Prof Ndubuaku disclosed that the embattled LP Chairman had, through his lawyer, sought an out-of-court settlement two weeks before the Supreme Court judgment, seeking to step down in exchange for certain conditions.
According to the union leader, Mr Abure still has the opportunity to honour his pledge before the NLC takes a drastic decision to eventually ‘flush him out’ of the party secretariat.
He said, “After the National Transition Committee set up by the stakeholders asked him to vacate the secretariat, Abure ran to court, where he challenged the NLC and NTC leadership. That case came up in the Federal High Court, Zuba.
“After our response to their submissions by our counsel, Abure’s lawyer told the judge they were no longer interested in continuing with the case, adding that Abure had agreed to yield the chairmanship seat to us, based on certain terms he didn’t state.
“They requested more time for an out-of-court settlement, and the judge gave them up to the 28th of June to bring their settlement or adoption to court. This same Abure took that position two weeks before the Supreme Court ruling. So, what has now changed?
“His case is like that of someone with a mental illness. This is no longer a game. Abure is still sitting tight despite knowing that he has been removed.”
But reacting, Mr Abure’s camp denied that the LP chair requested a soft landing in exchange for giving up his position.
Speaking with The Tide source, the National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, said, “It is not true. That is propaganda. There is nothing like that. We didn’t have any out-of-court settlements or any commitment like that with anybody, let alone the NLC.
“Are these not the same people going for discussions on coalition and trying to use the party as a transactional vehicle? They want to sell the party. No, it is not possible.”
Politics
LP Condemns Baba-Ahmed Over Statement On Tinubu’s Administration

The Julius Abure-leadership of the Labour Party (LP) has condemned a statement by the former vice presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, who said President Bola Tinubu’s government is ‘questionably constitutional’.
The rebuttal, signed by Dr Arabambi Abayomi was issued to newsmen on Saturday in Kaduna by the National Secretary, Umar Ibrahim.
Dr Abayomi said the LP viewed the comment as undemocratic, therefore dissociating itself from any surreptitious action capable of inciting Nigerians against the present government.
He said the party approached the 2023 general elections with all the determination to make a difference in the way Nigeria was run.
The scribe also recalled that the party had sponsored candidates it believed at the time could win elections.
He also recalled that the result of the 2023 presidential election declaration did not go its way, and the party challenged the result up to the Supreme Court and lost.
“For the interest and peace of the nation, the Labour Party accepted the judgment of the Supreme Court.
“This was not because we were pleased but because of the finality of the Supreme Court’s judgment. The party has since moved on,” he said.
Dr Abayomi lamented that the party was astonished by the illegal and unconstitutional meeting called by Governor Alex Otti of Abia and Peter Obi on April 9 in Abuja.
He said that at the meeting, Sen. Baba-Ahmed still referred to the 2023 presidential election as ‘questionably constitutional’ even with the legitimacy conferred on President Tinubu’s government by the Supreme Court.
Dr Abayomi also alleged that Sen. Baba-Ahmed, in an interview with a national television station, said, “The appointments they are making are fake and illegal.
“The paraphernalia of government they are enjoying, destroying our country, and spending our money is only for a little time.”
He, therefore, said for them at the party, such a statement was clearly inciting and a call for mass action against a constituted authority.
Dr Abayomi said, “We think there should be a limit to whipping up the public sentiments against a legitimate government.
“The Arab Spring that rattled the entire Middle East started when the Arab leaders paid no attention to Bouazizi’s subtle comment.
“There was also the persistent galvanisation of the youths against their governments leading into the mass demonstrations, revolts, and revolutions that almost consumed the region.”
He recalled that Senator Baba-Ahmed, while refusing to concede victory in the 2023 presidential election, also alleged that President Tinubu’s government harboured a grand scheme to dismember Nigeria into six possibly autonomous zones.
He had also alleged that the administration had thrown Nigerians into untold hardship.
All these, Dr Abayomi said, were efforts to whip up sentiments against the government.
He emphasised that Nigeria was presently passing through a dangerous and precarious phase.
According to him, this needs every well meaning Nigerian to realise the fragility of the nation by putting politics aside and help to move the nation out of the woods.
Dr Abayomi maintained that the leadership of LP had stated clearly that it was within the right of every Nigerian to hold the government accountable for its inability to live up to the expectation.
He, however, said statements that were inciting and capable of plunging the nation into unwarranted combustion, particularly by the political class, must be avoided.
“The Labour Party under the able leadership of Mr Julius Abure, therefore, wishes to completely dissociate itself from the unfortunate and reprehensible comments by its former vice presidential candidate,” he said.
Similarly, Dr Abayomi said the party also viewed the alleged comment by Gov. Otti of a possible ‘doomsday’ awaiting the Julius Abure-led leadership as a direct threat to the lives of the party’s executive members.
He called on all the security agencies to beef up security around their leaders.
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