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Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South in the National Assembly, faces harsh criticism from the Northern Redemption Coalition (NRC) over his opposition to President Bola Tinubu's proposed tax reform bills.
Ndume, who labelled the bills “dead on arrival” during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, called for their rejection by the National Assembly, sparking strong backlash from northern stakeholders.
The tax reform package, sent to the National Assembly by President Tinubu, includes four bills: the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill. This legislative package is designed to replace the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and aims to streamline tax collection nationwide.
The Northern Governors Forum (NGF) had already voiced opposition to the VAT-related changes, fearing economic strain on northern states, a position some groups have also condemned.
READ ALSO: Northern govs told to embrace Tinubu's 'Tax Reform Bill'
The NRC, however, was quick to distance itself from Ndume's comments. NRC President Comrade Adamu Bashir accused Ndume of self-serving populism that does not represent the interests of northern constituents.
“It is the failure of leaders like Ndume to develop the North that has left them with the phobia for tax bills, which President Tinubu has demonstrated, can turn the economy around,” Bashir stated.
READ ALSO: 'We made him president' - Gov Sule reacts to North rejecting Tinubu's 'Tax Bill'
Bashir argued that Ndume’s long tenure in the Senate has yielded little progress for his constituents, suggesting he was disconnected from the reality faced by ordinary northern citizens.
“While he claimed to be speaking for the poor in the country, it turned out he cannot even speak for the North, and certainly, he appears disconnected from his constituency,” Bashir remarked, adding that Ndume’s stance reinforces “the wrong notion of a lazy and entitled North.”
The NRC president further cautioned that northern Nigerians do not fear new tax reforms but rather fear ineffective leadership.
“The North fears leaders like Ndume and our governors, who have refused to distribute wealth evenly,” he said.