Lawmaker criticizes Tinubu’s tax reform bills over drafting flaws

A member of the House of Representatives, Sada Soli, has raised concerns over President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills, alleging that they were poorly drafted and lacked professional scrutiny.

Soli, who represents the Jibia/Kaita Federal Constituency, made these remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday night.

According to Soli, the drafting errors in the bills suggest that President Tinubu was misadvised on the tax reform process, leading to fundamental mistakes.

He specifically pointed out that the bills were erroneously referred to as Acts, a misnomer that indicated a lack of professional oversight and due diligence.

“Let us be fair to Mr. President. For a President to take a decision, he has to rely on certain advice. I think the President was poorly advised,” Soli stated.

“People that drafted these bills in the first place, the draft was poorly done because they were referring to the bills as Acts. When I read these bills, I know that they were poorly drafted and were not subjected to professional drafters.”

READ ALSO: House of Reps advances Tinubu’s Tax reform bills amid calls equity

The lawmaker further emphasized that the proposed tax reforms did not follow the standard legislative process before being presented, raising questions about the procedural integrity of the bills.

“We have to be fair to the President. He is an individual. He was advised by his consultants. And the bill did not go through the normal process it should have followed,” he noted.

Despite these drafting flaws, Soli commended President Tinubu for his willingness to allow scrutiny and amendments.

He described the President as a politically astute leader who embraces inclusivity in governance.

“Bola Tinubu, anybody that knows him knows his political sagacity. He is an inclusive politician. I have to be fair to him. When he realizes that the bills are capable of causing some problems, he subjected them to all scrutiny. Governors looked at them,” Soli remarked.

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The lawmaker also revealed that Tinubu encouraged a broad review of the bills by key stakeholders, including the Attorney General of the Federation, the Senate, and members of the House of Representatives.

“He (Tinubu) said that the Senate should go and sit down with the Attorney General of the Federation. He discussed with the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives to widely look at them before he tried to consider the bills.”

Following these deliberations, the tax reform bills successfully passed their second reading in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The bills will now proceed to committee review, where lawmakers will examine the concerns raised and consider possible amendments before final approval.