The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has accused Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State of using his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s tax reforms to further his own presidential ambitions for 2027.
Tuggar made this claim while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics program.
He stated that the Bauchi State governor lacks sincerity in his criticisms of President Tinubu.
“Governor Bala Mohammed showed clearly that he does not have any sincerity of purpose,” Tugar said on the programme.
“It is not that other governors did not try to interrogate the tax bill when it was presented which is a good thing as a matter of fact so that Nigerians get the best out of the bill, but what Bala Mohammed proceeded to do was to use it as a platform to launch his presidential campaign very early in the day.
“He was the most severe in his invectives towards the president, towards the administration with his vituperations towards the president and the administration.”
The Minister said Governor Mohammed has been trying to secure an audience with Tinubu following his criticism of the president on the tax reform bills.
The Bauchi State governor had while addressing a Christian community on Boxing Day in Bauchi, urged President Tinubu to backtrack on the tax policy reforms as it could lead to anarchy.
According to him, the policy does not in any way favour the North, adding that the governors would not be able to pay salaries.
He warned that if these policies continued, the northern region would “show its true colours” in response.
However, the Presidency responded to the governor and condemned what it described as a threat to the president. It said Mohammed’s view does not reflect the view of the entire north.
Meanwhile, on January 16, Nigerian governors declared support for the Federal Government’s tax reform bills. However, they proposed a new value-added tax (VAT) sharing formula.
The decision was taken following a meeting of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Presidential Tax Reform Committee.
In a communique at the end of the meeting, the governors’ forum “reiterated its strong support for the comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s archaic tax laws.
