Yesterday, some members of the House of Representatives urged others to ‘wake up from your slumber’, over its suspended action on the Tax Reform Bills.
Lawmakers from the South – across party lines – said they have endorsed the Executive Bill.
They expressed interest in dialogue with their colleagues who have misgivings on the Bills, intended to revitalise the dormant tax laws of the country.
Leader of the Southern caucus in the Green Chamber Nichola Mutu (PDP, Delta), said yesterday that the lawmakers are in a position to carry out their constitutional duty of lawmaking and should not shy away from it.
Mutu said: “We members of the Southern Caucus have met and welcome the Bills and we are ready to dialogue”.
He accompanied Fred Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa), Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos) and Pascal Agbodike (APGA, Anambra) to the news conference.
Unlike in the Senate, where the Tax Reform Bills are at the public hearing stage, having passed first and second reading, the House of Representatives has kept the Bills in abeyance after an attempt at first reading turned rowdy.
Last week, when House spokesman Akin Rotimi mentioned the support for the Bills by Ekiti State Caucus, while presenting a report, some members shouted him down. He had to be rescued by the presiding officer.
Yesterday, Mutu said the caucus was ready to interface with lawmakers from other parts of the country on the nitty gritty of the tax bills.
He added: l“The Southern Caucus welcomed the tax reform bills with so much excitement. We are open to dialogue and at the right time, we will capture the people’s element that is missing in the bill.
“We are open to dialogue. We have not gone beyond that. This is just the first process. But just to inform you that we have received the bill, we welcome the bill, and we are open to dialogue. That is all.”
