Politics
Northern senators hold closed-door meeting as tax bills scale second reading
Senators from northern states on Thursday met behind closed doors after the Red Chamber passaged Bola Tinubu’s Tax Reform Bills for a second reading.
The meeting was announced during the plenary, was held in room 301 and lasted about two hours, but details of the conversation remained unknown.
Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, declined comment after the session.
Earlier on Thursday, the Senate tasked its Committee on Finance to invite governors, the Governors Forum, traditional rulers, and other stakeholders to attend a public hearing on the bills.
This followed the passage of the controversial bills for a second reading after a debate, after which they were referred to the Finance Committee, which was directed to revert in not more than six weeks.
Before the debate, the lawmakers had gone into a closed-door session.
On their return from the executive session, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele ( APC, Ekiti Central) led the debate.
President Bola Tinubu had in October sent four tax bills to the National Assembly.
The bills include the Tax Reform Bills comprising the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024 and Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024.
When the bills were initially introduced, the northern governors rejected them, describing them as anti-democratic.