By Joy Odor
Hon. Kingsley Chinda, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives has expressed his support for the Tax Reform Bill, stating that it is more beneficial to the general public compared to the previous version presented to the Senate and House.
Chinda, who represents Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency of Rivers under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) emphasized that the passage of the tax reform bills demonstrates the opposition’s commitment to working in the best interest of Nigeria.
The House Minority Leader disclosed this in an exclusive interview when the National Assembly New Media Forum (NANMF) led by its Chairman, Clement Chibuike paid him a
congratulatory visit at the 58th birthday celebration.
He noted that the public often misconceived the absence of conflict among parliamentarians as a lack of opposition in Parliament.
“Recall that the Tax Reform Bill is part of a broader effort to overhaul Nigeria’s tax system, which includes four key bills: the Nigeria Tax Bill (NTB) 2024, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill (NTAB), the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill (NRSEB), and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill (JRBEB).
“let me say that the passage of the tax reform bills, is one of the evidence of the five of opposition which we assured you we are going to have in place in Parliament.
“I know that for Nigerians, if they don’t see parliamentarians blowing, hitting at each other, insulting and attacking themselves, they feel that there is no position in Parliament. But we have been here long enough, and out of experience, we have concluded that that has not paid off for us as a nation and as a country. We have fought for several years in Parliament, but we saw insecurity increasing.
“We saw economic woes increasing. So we decided that we are going to make our impact having the interest of Nigerians at the back of our mind, not seeking for popularity, not seeking for our colleagues from the public, but ensuring that we do our work very studiously and then get results.
“The tax bill is one of such results. When the tax bill came, we saw that the bill was not good enough for Nigerians, and we started the push for a reform of that bill. We believe, or we believed, that Nigeria needed a change in her tax system, and so our tax laws were due for reform.
“So the spirit of the tax bill was good, but the letter had issues that we needed to rejig, and when all that came up, went into the room with the leadership of the National Assembly and pointed out the areas that Nigerians are complaining of which we believe that their complaint were genuine and correct complaints, these things were looked at in house that’s why it was delayed.
“We insisted, and it was stepped down. Took our time to do in house cleaning of the bill, all the contentious areas, proper consultation, from the Governor’s forum to state parliament and several organizations, including religious groups, all the opinion we are taking into consideration in house, and when we had tidied that up completely, We came back to the floor of the parliament to now look at it and ensure that what we had agreed is exactly what is brought to the floor of Parliament, and we passed it with ease” he noted.
Commenting on the State of Emergency and Suspension imposed on River State and the Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara by President Bola Tinubu which was jointly approved by the National Assembly, Rep Chinda maintained that he is prepared to sacrifice his seat as a member and ensure that no life in rivers state is lost.
He reminded Nigerians that the House Rules provide for process and procedure which says every process is legitimate unless it is contested.
“We must make progress. There’s no harm, whether the legislature, the judiciary or the executive, even the Nigerian masses, that it cannot share from the blame of our country, all of us must sit up. We must be a little bit more selfless, honorable.
