Caption:Senator Seriake Dickson
Former Governor of Bayelsa State and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, Sen. Seriake Dickson, said on Monday that despite opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s controversial tax reform bills, the National Assembly would pass them.
The lawmaker, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who represents the Bayelsa-West Senatorial District, spoke with reporters in Abuja.
He argued that if the National Assembly could pass the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), nothing would stop lawmakers from doing the same with the tax bills, which have already passed second reading in the Senate.
Dickson also dismissed concerns from some quarters that the planned public hearing on the bills could be chaotic if the event were not postponed for further consultations with stakeholders.
The senator called on those opposed to the tax bills to attend the public hearing with facts if they had superior views on why the legislation should be halted.
Citing the case of the PIA, the former governor noted that if the National Assembly could pass it with the 3 percent statutory fees payable to host communities—despite the Niger Delta leaders’ insistence on the 10 percent recommended in the executive bill—then the tax reform bills would not be subject to prolonged debate.
As stipulated in the PIA 2021, the 3 percent fee applies to the Operating Expenses or Expenditure (OPEX) of the previous year, which oil companies must remit to host communities.
Dickson recalled that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua proposed a 10 percent fee for host communities, but the National Assembly passed 3 percent after nearly two decades without any protest.
He continued, “The Senate has passed the bills for second reading. The public hearing will take place, and people should get ready to present their positions.
“The tax bill is a law like any other, and it has to go through the normal legislative process.
“Right now, taxes from Bayelsa State are paid to Lagos State, and I don’t want that to continue.
“When there is consumption of goods or services from any state, it should be calculated and paid to that state.
“Now there is an opportunity to review the tax laws and correct the anomalies, and that’s why I’m in support.
“I know there are states that feel they will earn less with the new sharing formula. It’s for them to raise those issues and provide the statistics. I don’t go by sentiments. I go by what is right and in the national interest,” he added.
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When asked whether there would be uproar during the public hearing if wider consultations were not carried out, Dickson said there would be no such issue.
The senator explained, “Forget about the uproar; there will be no uproar. A public hearing is an opportunity for people to present their concerns, and no one will be intimidated by any uproar.
“The PIA was passed. We wanted 10 percent, which was what Yar’Adua proposed. They (federal lawmakers) reduced it to 3 percent. Heaven did not fall. These tax reform bills will pass, and the heavens will not fall.”
The Senate Committee on Finance, which was tasked with conducting the public hearing, was given six weeks by the Senate to complete the assignment. (Nigerian Tribune)
