Kwara Assembly reacts to revenue bill controversy
The Kwara State House of Assembly has reacted to the controversy on the Consolidated Revenue Codes and Rate Bill proposed by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
The bill, submitted to the legislative body on September 24, seeks the review of the revenue rates and to provide for the effective and transparent collection of revenue in the state.
The bill, which also seeks the disintegration of the revenue codes and rates from the Kwara State Revenue Administration Law passed in 2015, has passed the first and second reading, with the public hearing scheduled for Monday, October 12.
Meanwhile, the Assembly had earlier approved a regulation which detailed the review of the revenue codes and rates, a major component of the new bill.
This development consequently generated heated controversy following the circulation of the regulation document on social media.
Reacting to this, the spokesperson of the Kwara Assembly Speaker, Ibrahim Sheriff, in a statement sent to THE INFORMANT247 on Wednesday, said the regulation was approved by the legislative body for the state to access a 2 million dollars grant from the World Bank under the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS).
The statement read partly, “The documents being circulated on the social media is “NOT A BILL”, but the Revenue Codes and Rates Regulations for the purpose of Fiscal Transparency and Accountability (SFTAS) with specific reference to the Kwara State Revenue Administration Law, 2015, dated September 28th, 2020, signed and sent by the His Excellency for legislative approval.
“It is important to state that the document is just a “REQUEST APPROVAL” which does not require Governor’s assent.
“The Consolidated Revenue Codes and Rates Bill, 2020 only passed 1st and 2nd readings as at September 29th, 2020 and the public hearing holds October 12th, 2020.”
