Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has called on northern Nigerians to refrain from condemning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the proposed tax reform bills.
Speaking at a Channels Television Town Hall meeting on Monday, Dogara described the reforms as a significant step forward and dismissed claims that they are anti-North.
Dogara emphasized that Tinubu’s administration is addressing critical economic issues in ways no Northern leader has done in recent memory.
“I want to talk to my brothers in the North; I don’t think this is the time for us to condemn the president on the grounds that these bills are anti-North,” Dogara said.
He highlighted Tinubu’s creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development as a landmark initiative that has the potential to transform the region’s economy.
“The president has done something significant, and if he can pursue this to the end, then there is no Northern leader in my lifetime that has done what the president has done,” Dogara said.
“The global market size of dairy products will rise in the next three years to about $2.5 trillion. If the North can organise itself to tap into even five percent of this market, that would amount to $250 billion. The North can survive on its own; we are the most endowed part of Nigeria.”
Dogara urged Northern leaders to leverage the proposed reforms and initiatives, such as the livestock ministry, to unlock the region’s economic potential.
The tax reform bills have sparked debate across the country, with critics voicing concerns about their potential impact.
