Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, has accused Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, of leveraging on criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills to advance his 2027 presidential bid.
BACKGROUND
The tax reform bills have faced scathing criticisms since
the president dispatched them to the national assembly.
Mohammed and the presidency have engaged in a heated exchange
over the bills.
In December 2024, Mohammed, who chairs the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, criticised the bills, alleging that
they favour one region.
The governor claimed the bills amounted to “calls for
anarchy” and warned that Tinubu would see “our real colour” if the legislation
were passed.
Subsequently, the presidency asked Mohammed to withdraw the
comments against the president.
Sunday Dare, the president’s special adviser on media and
public communication, said Mohammed’s remarks were “inflammatory ” and amounted
to “direct threats toward the federal government”.
Some 24 hours later, Mohammed fired back, saying he stood by
his comments and would not be threatened.
The governor criticised the presidency’s approach to the tax
reform debate, urging it to avoid arrogance and listen to the concerns of
Nigerians.
Dare had subsequently asked the governor to stop playing
“irresponsible politics” and to focus on alleviating poverty in Bauchi.
‘NO SINCERITY OF
PURPOSE’
Speaking on Sunday Politics, a programme on Channels
Television, Tuggar said the Bauchi governor has shown that he was not sincere
in his criticisms of the bills.
The minister added that Mohammed has been seeking Tinubu’s
attention since he began criticising the proposed legislations.
“Governor Bala Mohammed showed clearly that he did not have
any sincerity of purpose,” Tuggar said.
“It is not that other governors did not try to interrogate
the tax bill when it was presented — which is a good thing as a matter of fact
so that Nigerians get the best out of the bill.
“But what senator Bala Mohammed proceeded to do was to use
it as a platform to launch his presidential campaign very early in the day.
“He was the most severe with his invectives towards the
president, towards the administration with his vituperations.
“What the general public doesn’t know is that since then,
Bala Mohammed has been trying to secure an audience with President Tinubu.”
Tuggar added that Mohammed tried to use a recent event in
Bauchi to secure a “photo-op with the president and to plead behind the
scenes”.
On January 16, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), after a
meeting with the presidential tax reform committee, announced their support for
the bills and called for an “equitable” sharing formula for value-added tax
(VAT).
The forum endorsed a VAT sharing formula of 50 percent based
on equality, 30 percent on derivation, and 20 percent on population, differing
from the federal government’s proposal.
The federal government had proposed a derivation of 60
percent, equality of 20 percent, and 20 percent based on population.
Afterwards, Tinubu commended the governors for backing the
bills and urged the national assembly to expedite passage.
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