Tax reform: MURIC urges FG to demystify North -South dichotomy

Stanley Ihedigbo

As the Nigerian Senate halts action on the controversial tax bills, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has advised the presidency to consult widely, build trust, allay fears, and demystify the North-South dichotomy before reintroducing the bills.

MURIC gave the advice via a press statement issued by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

“The Nigerian Senate has been widely reported as halting further debates on the tax reform bill due to the huge controversy it has generated.

“Given this development, we would like to advise the presidency to devote more time to robust consultation, to build trust across the divides, allay fears in all sectors, and demystify the North-South dichotomy before reintroducing the bills. We cannot afford to destroy within days what took a whole century to build. Neither should the presidency remove the same ladder used by it to access Aso Rock’s hilly terrain when it has not even reached halfway yet, and it will still need the same ladder to reach the very top.

“The group also debunked a statement credited to its Executive Director in which he was quoted as saying that Islamic scholars should not comment on the tax reform. MURIC said such a statement did not emanate from its office,” he explained.

According to him, the Executive Director said in an interview that lasted less than two minutes that he would not personally want to go into the nitty-gritty of the tax reform, but he would leave those details to financial experts and tax gurus.

“He said nothing about other Islamic scholars and he did not say such scholars should not speak on the matter. We advise journalists to desist from twisting words to suit their whims and caprices,” he further explained.