SECURITY SCHOLAR, OLUDOTUN ADETUBERU ASSURES TAX REFORM WILL IMPROVE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF NIGERIANS

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SECURITY SCHOLAR, OLUDOTUN ADETUBERU ASSURES TAX REFORM WILL IMPROVE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF NIGERIANS

A Security Scholar and Geologist, Asiwaju Oludotun Adetuberu PhD has thrown his weight behind the proposed tax reform being championed by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Dr. Adetuberu who made his opinion public in a statement is optimistic that realisation of the dream will restore peace and enhace confidence in the security architecture in Nigeria.

The Security Scholar emphasized that the proposal by President Bola Tinubu will also go a long way in alleviating the financial strains on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which constitute a significant portion of Nigeria’s economy.

Adetuberu who is also the President, Governing Council of the Institute of Global Peace and Conflict Management, Abuja called on all stakeholders to support President Tinubu in achieving the target in the general interest of the entire Nigerians.

Asiwaju Adetuberu in his new year message noted that the Tax Reform Bill will restore peace and enhace confidence in the security architecture in Nigeria .

In his words, “the Reform Tax Bill which has scaled the second reading at the upper chamber has sparked heated debates and controversies among the northerners who expressed that the Tax Reform Bill is capable of strangulating the economic value of some of the states , especially in the Northern region of Nigeria. This wrong conception is most unfortunate because the President Bola Tinubu Tax Reform Bill is definitely going to improve and enhance collaborative development and robust security networking in Nigeria”.

“One of the standout features of the tax reform is the exemption of small-scale business owners from tax levies, this exemption aims to alleviate the financial strains on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which constitute a significant portion of Nigeria’s economy”.

“The Reform Tax Bill is not just to modernize the tax system in the country, but to also address multiplicity of taxes and also to ensure relief for the poor Nigerians and low level businesses, insulating the poor enterprise from VAT payment through exemptions of goods and services that directly impact their lives”.

“President Tinubu must be commended for his dedication and commitment towards government policies aimed for the poor citizens to breathe rather than suffocates”.

“The Reform Tax Bill is capable of enhancing economic growth by promoting a more stable and predictable tax friendly environment, which can lead to the creation of job opportunities, reduced poverty, and improved living standards, all of which can contribute to improved security”.

“Overall, the Tax Bill has the potential towards improving security network in Nigeria because all the states would focus on increasing their revenue, the political class who invited bandits to their domain for the purpose of scaring the villagers where minerals are domiciled and exploiting such mineral resources for personal gains would definitely raise their voices against the Tax Reform Bill because their illegitimate sources of income are coming to an end with these bills”.

“The bill is targeted towards reducing over dependence on oil revenues, but promoting transparency and accountability, the panacea to the economic growth”.

“Citing the case of Zamfara States where nearly 50% of the Local Governments has been invaded by mineral bandits, resources terrorist, in active collaboration with international communities , using activities of Non Governmental Organizations towards promoting insecurity , having unhindered access to Gold and other economic mineral resources”.

“Gold is mined illegally into private pockets, and nothing comes to the State and Federal government accounts from the trillions they generate yearly from it”.

Adetuberu emphasised that “Imagine what the Northern Nigeria does with their natural resources and revenue while fighting Southerners over Tax Reform Bill because they don’t want to share this, but continue keeping their revenues in their private pockets, while sharing revenues from the South with Southerners”.

“This is the criminal enterprise that causes all the bandits killings in that area, whenever gold deposits are discovered in a place or settlement, the barons sponsor bandit attacks to kill and wipe out the villagers, then force the remnant survivors to abandon the location for illegal mining activities”, the security scholar stressed.

“This is applicable to other northern State such as Plateau , Nasarawa , Benue and Borno States where we have larger deposits of lithium and associated host mineral rock”, Adetuberu added.