The Senate Chief Whip Ali Ndume has fired back at serious criticism of northern region as being a parasite in the country. The outspoken and veteran senator from Borno State said that the region is an asset to the country.
Ndume is at the forefront opposing the tax reform of President Bola Tinubu. He has insisted that the reform is aimed at crippling the northern region. And proponents of the reform including Yakubu Dogara, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, had asked the region to wake up and work harder to generate revenue.
He said, “The North was, is, and will never be a parasite or dependent on any region or even the country. We are assets, not liabilities, to Nigeria. Those who think that the current tax reforms are only against Northern interests are naive. As it is, the law is against all low- and middle-income Nigerians.”
“The FIRS should concentrate on expanding the tax net and collecting more. Also, accountability and transparency should be increased,” he said.
“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,” he said.
He added, “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.”
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