Obi hails Tinubu’s advice on VAT

                 

The vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 presidential election, Mr Peter Obi has commended the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on his position on Value Added Tax (VAT).

Tinubu had, in Abuja on Thursday, advised the Federal Government against increasing VAT rate, as being canvassed by the Minister of National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma and the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Babatunde Fowler.

In a statement Sunday by his media office, Obi described Asiwaju Tinubu’s advice as gratifying and made a lot of economic sense given the situation in the country.

According to the PDP chieftain, Tinubu’s position was clearly at variance with that of his party, saying it goes to underscore the uncoordinated campaign the APC dished out to Nigerians.


Stating that tax must be relaxed to act as an incentive to local and foreign investors, Obi insisted that the right way to shape up the economy in the face of mass unemployment in the country is to have an attractive economic policy to encourage entrepreneurs and investors.

Obi said the call for increase in VAT or other taxes in the present economic situation amounted to insensitivity on the part of government to the plight of the populace.

Mr Obi, however, said that Tinubu’s advice on VAT was in tandem with the position of the PDP, stressing that tax reduction was one of the main electioneering campaign messages of the PDP presidential campaign.

“It’s extremely unrealistic for anybody to think of growing the economy of this country and creating jobs just by increasing tax. It’s too simplistic an approach”, Obi said.

The former opposition vice presidential candidate enjoined Tinubu to also advise the APC to embrace restructuring, saying it’s the only option left to move the country forward.

Obi said, “Anybody thinking that this country will work without tinkering with the political and economic structure is deceiving himself because no nation grows on injustice”.

He described as unfortunate the fact that Nigeria with all her potential, is among the three African countries that Pew Research Center indicated that 45 percent of their adult population are desiring to leave the countries in search of greener pastures.