Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has criticised the handling of the new tax laws passed by the National Assembly in 2025, saying state governors were not consulted and remain unaware of its contents.
Speaking on the controversy surrounding the proposed legislation, Makinde said governors could not take a clear position because they had not been given the opportunity to review or discuss the bill collectively.
“In this dispensation on the tax bill, we are saying: bring the tax bill back home. Look, let us all have an opportunity to look at it, but we cannot speak to it,” the governor stated.
Makinde stressed that meaningful engagement was impossible without access to the details of the bill. He insisted that wider consultations were necessary before any legislative progress could be made.
“Bring it back. Let us all have an opportunity to discuss it,” he added.
Responding to a suggestion during the discussion, Makinde acknowledged the limitations facing state governments in commenting on the legislation at this stage.
“We cannot speak to it in this discussion,” he said.
Transparency Concerns
Makinde described the manner in which the bill was forwarded to the National Assembly as concerning, arguing that the process undermined transparency and inclusiveness.
“So, the tax bill is an affront. But the only goal of what we are saying, and what the Presidency has done by sending the tax bill to the National Assembly, is to bring it back, and we know where we are,” he said.
He further noted that governors remain in the dark about both the final content of the bill and the legislative actions already taken.
“We don’t know what was passed at the National Assembly, and we don’t know what happened there,” Makinde added.
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