Senator Ali Ndume, the Senator representing Borno North Central Senatorial District has disclosed the reasons he is against the Tax Reform Bills, which have been passed for second reading in the Senate.

During an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, the controversial senator noted the importance of a governance reform before tax reforms.

The former Senate Chief Whip cited issues such as wrong timing, derivation, the Value Added Tax, and a lack of consensus or Nigerian buy-in as reasons he is against the bill.

He noted that the country spends over 50 percent of its budget on recurrent expenditure and debt servicing.

Recall that there was controversy in the Senate after the four tax bills passed for a second reading on Thursday, November 28 through voice notes.

The bills include a proposal to establish the Joint Revenue Board, the Tax Appeal Tribunal, and the Office of the Tax Ombudsman, all part of President Bola Tinubu’s comprehensive tax reform package.

“Yes, reform. But even with reforms, you have to prioritise, time it correctly, and ensure the buy-in of Nigerians because this is a democracy. It is the government of the people, for the people, and by the people.

“First in Nigeria, what we need to do is reform the government. Our personnel and overhead expenditure for 2024 is about 50 to 60 per cent of the budget itself. We are here in November, and 20 per cent of the budget has not been implemented. But if you check the recurrent expenditure, it has already been exhausted.

“So, that means over 15 to 20 trillion naira is going into personnel, debt servicing, and recurrent expenditure. We should reform the government, not only the Executive – we need to reform the government holistically,” he said.

The Senator also raised concerns that, despite being an Executive Bill, the Senate treated it as if it were a Presidential bill, reinforcing the perception of a rubber-stamp Senate.

“Does it say it’s a Presidential Bill or is it supposed to be a Presidential Bill? When you say it’s an Executive Bill and you don’t have the buy-in of the Executive of the State, is it complete? That is where the problem lies. We’ve been doing this to the point that they now call us a rubber stamp,” Ndume said.