Both chambers of the National Assembly unexpectedly adjourned plenary to November 19, 2024 amidst controversy trailing tax reforms bills forwarded to them by President Bola Tinubu .
By Haruna Salami
Both chambers of the National Assembly unexpectedly adjourned plenary to November 19, 2024 amidst controversy trailing tax reforms bills forwarded to them by President Bola Tinubu .
The Senate had on Wednesday listed the bill on its order paper for first reading but stood it down along with other items for screening and confirmation of appointments of the seven ministerial nominees forwarded to it by President Tinubu last week .
Curiously on Thursday, the bill was not listed on the order paper used by the Senate for plenary proceedings.
Apparently disturbed by rejection of proposals contained in the bills by critical stakeholders in the polity like state governors and even some Senators like Ali Ndume ( APC Borno South), Dandutse Muntari (APC Katsina South) etc , the Senate just about an hour into plenary , hurriedly moved into closed door session.
Though the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central), who moved motion for the hurried session , hinged it on matters relating to smooth running of the National Assembly, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio after three hours of the session , said matters on urgent National importance were discussed.
Akpabio in stating this said : “Distinguished colleagues , the Senate at the closed door session deliberated on matters of urgent national importance . Is this a true reflection of what transpired at the closed door session ? “, which the Senators responded to, affirmatively.
What further made the adjournment unexpected and hurriedly taken , was the fact that after the closed door session, the Senate only considered report of its committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions but stood down the three other items listed for consideration.
It would be recalled that early in the month , when the Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS) , Zacch Adedeji had an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Finance on objectives of the tax reforms bills, a member of the committee , Dandutse Muntari vowed that the proposed legislation would not see the light of the day .
Like a bolt from the blues, the President of the Senate after consideration of the report on the bill seeking for Act for establishment of University of Agriculture and Tropical Studies, Iragbiji in Osun State, announced adjournment of plenary to November 19, 2024 for oversight and committee engagements .
The FIRS boss at the session tried spiritedly to allay the fears of the lawmakers on possible tax increase but some members of the committee said the time for such reform was not now.
Going by records of parliamentary sittings at both chambers of the National Assembly from June 1999 till date, they have never ever proceeded on long adjournment at this period of the year when attention should be on consideration of Medium Term Expenditure Framework ( MTEF) /Fiscal Strategy Paper ( FSP) and by extension, 2025 budget.
