*Northern Elders Forum reaffirms rejection of tax reform bill
CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Secretary-General of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Murtala Aliyu, has rejected the claims in some quarters that it criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration because the president is a southerner, insisting that it criticised the present administration with the same vigour it applied in its criticism of the administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
This is just as the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) yesterday reaffirmed its rejection of the Tax Reform Bill, saying it threatened national cohesion and was “conceived in bad faith.”
Speaking on ‘News Night’, an ARISE NEWS Channel programme, Aliyu said that while the forum may be political, it remains impartial and not partisan.
“I think that’s an unfair judgment to say we criticise the government because a southerner is at the helm of affairs,” he said.
“We were huge critics of the last northern-led administration, and our records can verify this.
“We have consistently brought attention to government actions and pressed for improvement when necessary.
“The ACF’s official position is that selecting candidates is the responsibility of political parties.
“We’ll assess which candidate is better for the country and the north. We’re not partisan, but rather political, and our interest is the entire northern state and its benefit to the whole country.
“We don’t take sides, and we’re not against any person, including the current president.”
Aliyu’s remarks came in the wake of the reported announcement that the ACF will support a northern candidate in the 2027 general election.
On Wednesday, ACF National Chairman, Mamman Osuman, announced the support of the forum for a northern candidate in the 2027 general election.
Subsequently, the ACF suspended Osuman for issuing an unauthorised statement, adding that he did not consult with other leaders and members of the forum before making the remark.
Aliyu said that the ACF’s primary concern is ensuring leaders prioritise grassroots needs, adding that collaboration between federal and state governments is crucial for progress.
“First of all, let me say that we engage the governors at the governors’ forum level. We also engage the governors at the individual level,” he said.
“We also engage the traditional rulers. And where there is responsibility at the sub-national level, we bring their attention to that. We are not totally blaming the national government for all the wars in the country.
“Just like the north, any part of the country will have to wake up at the sub-national level to do the right thing and so the federal government will complement those efforts. But such economic policies, the macro-economic policies, are actually defined by the government at the centre.
“If things are going right or wrong at the centre, they should address it. At the micro-level, the state governments or the governments at the sub-national level will handle that. And we are talking to them.
“So, we are not saying we are heaping all the blame on one person or one location. No. We are saying all people at the leadership level should wake up to their responsibility and also be aware that the people at the grassroots are complaining.
“So, we expect to see the promises the government made. That changes will come soon and that succour will come to the people.”
Northern Elders Forum Reaffirms Rejection of Tax Reform Bill
Meanwhile, NEF has criticised the manner of the implementation of the Tax Reform Bill, alleging that key stakeholders, including members of the National Economic Council (NEC), were sidelined during the process.
The convener of NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi, in a communique after the forum Board of Trustees’ second bi-annual meeting, in Abuja, warned against policies that could further marginalise the north’s resource potential.
The forum lauded the Northern States Governors’ Forum and the Northern Nigeria Council of Traditional Rulers for opposing the bill, dubbing their stance “patriotic” while urging Northern politicians in the National Assembly to speak out against it.
He said: “The meeting seriously maintained that, in its present form, the Tax Reform Bill is conceived in bad faith, poorly packaged and it is a palpable threat to our unity and national cohesion.
“The Board-in-session, condemned in very strong terms, the conspicuous loss of voice on this burning issue by the overwhelming number of elected politicians in the National Assembly from the region, and fiercely warned, that indeed, the days are fast gone, when such conspiratorial connivance against the vital and strategic interest of the region, either by those within or outside the region, would be condoned or even tolerated
“In consideration of the deteriorating situation in the education sector in the country in general and the North in particular, the Board-in-Session was alarmed by the high percentage, now about (60 per cent) of students in Northern Nigeria, who involuntarily were not able to return to their institutions of higher learning, universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and legal studies, due to high costs of tuition fees and unaffordable daily transportation to and from schools.
“The meeting went on to discuss the explosive crisis of out-of-school children now estimated to be 20 million in the whole country, of which over 80 per cent comes from the North. Against this troubling reality, the Board-in-session expressed serious doubt, on the viability and efficacy of the much-touted Federal Students Loan Scheme as a panacea to this malignant malady.”
