Adewumi Ademiju 
A member representing Ekiti North Federal Constituency II (Ido-Osi, Moba, Ilejemeje), Ekiti State, in the House of Representatives, Akinlayo Davidson Kolawole, has said the ongoing Tax Reform Bill is aimed at centralizing derivation across the board, contrary to the existing system that lacks correlation.
The Federal Lawmaker who spoke on Sunday added that the system will also make the rich pay more than the poor and be beneficial to the entire nation for adequate development.
Akinlayo, who is a member of the Tax Reform Bill committee, also stated that the ruling All Progressive Congress APC in Ekiti state and at the Federal level is not disturbed by any political gimmicks from the opposition, saying the ruling party is working assiduously to reform the country to developmental status.
He spoke on Saturday in his Ikosun Ekiti Country home during an empowerment programme he organized for the needy in his constituency.
The Lawmaker said the program was organized to be able to give back to his society.
Items distributed at the empowerment included sewing machines, grinding machines, motorcycles, Clothes, Cash and other valuable items.
“I know I have given back to the society that has done so much for me. This is just a stepping stone. I want them to put whatever we give them to use for their benefit and for the upliftment of their families.
” I have warned them that they should not sell it because the event has shown that items given to people are sold. We give to artisans. For instance, if you are a Tailor, we give you a sewing machine; some were given grinding machines.
“Okada riders were given byce. We don’t give to people who will sell it because we don’t want them to sell it.
“What we are doing is to empower and uplift the beneficiaries.
“This will play a significant role in their lives. As it is, things are hard in society. The little we can do is just to uplift and give them succour. That succour is what we have done.
“We gave out a lot of money to people – widows, elderly women. We selected 320 across my constituency. We give each N50.000 to start up something. We also clothe them, we gave them Ankara and Guinea Brocade.
“Tomorrow, we are giving bursary to students in Higher schools of Learning in my Federal constituency. Regardless of numbers as many as they are, we give them something to relieve their parents of school burden,” he said.
On Plenary/the deliberation by stakeholders about the Tax Reform Bill, the Lawmaker said:
“It’s been so rancour-free. I’m a member of the committee. House of Representatives sets up a 44 committee members to take on the Public hearing. I’m a member from Ekiti state. Im a statutory member of the Finance Committee, which gives me leverage to be in that committee.
“When people come with a memorandum, the recommendation. We look at it vis-à-vis what’s on ground in the bill already. There is an area we will amend about derivation. BAT, rather, we told them that BAT is a consumption tax. What you consume is what you pay taxes on.
” Some people feel that some areas consume more than others. For example,e Kano is big. The MTN calls made in Kano, they file the BAT in Lagos. Lagos benefits from it, but with the new tax bill before us, everywhere you make a call, for instance, if I make a call in Ikosun Ekiti, Ekiti state will be the beneficiary of that bill. That’s what the President has done.
” It is just to centralize that tax bill and distribution of BAT across board and also tax the rich to pay for the poor, because right now, any business below 50m are not going to pay taxes and if you earn certain amounts – from level 8 below, you are not paying taxes.”. Akinlayo said.
On the Political activities ahead of 2026 in Ekiti state and that of 2027, the Federal Lawmaker declared that the ruling party is not afraid of any game plan from the opposition, saying that the APC is democratically committed to the welfare and the development of the nation.
“I’m not perturbed because we know we are working. The government is working. What people don’t understand is that this government inherited a decayed situation.
“For Nigeria not to collapse, that’s why the President removed subsidy and floated the exchange rate, because if they don’t do that, you allow naira to determine its value. Before, we used naira to back naira. It’s not done anywhere.
” As an economist, nobody will do that, but the President said No! It’s high time we face reality and take the bull by the horns. That’s what we have done, and you see the economy is gradually picking.
“The prices of goods and services is reducing. If you go to market now. I bought a bag of rice yesterday, I bought it for N72.000.
“During the December period, I bought N92.000. You can see the N20.000 price reduction. So, things will get better. By God’s grace, this year will be a better year”, Akinlayo said.
The event was attended by dignitaries, traditional rulers, Community leaders and the state Deputy Governor, Monisade Afuye.
