Contentious tax reform bill before NASS has come to stay, says Pres. Tinubu

The controversial tax reform bill has come to stay, so declared President Bola Tinubu on Monday night while fieding questions from editors during his maiden presidential media chat.

The interview session held in Ikoyi, Lagos, moderated by Dr. Reuben Abati of Arise TV, was televised on national television and radio stations across the country and monitored by Persecondnews.

“The reform has come to stay. We cannot continue to run the economy with the policies of yesterday and expect things to change or work. I’m focused on what I planned to do and I will continue to do that,’’ Persecondnews quotes Tinubu as saying.

The president said he had been meeting his fianancial obligations at least in the past few months without taking money from the state-run oil firm – the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.

Tinubu also said without the “Ways and Means’’ of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari over exploited running into trillions of naira he had been able to meet all obligations.

“In the last three months, I have not taken a kobo from NNPC and I meet all my obligations. Also without Ways and Means, I have met all my obligations.’’

On food security, the president pointed out that the administration had introduced measures that would check or put paid to farmer-herder clashes which had sent most farmers from the farms across the country.

To this end, he said the Ministry of Livestock inaugurated by his administration is a game changer that would help to transform disaster to prosperity.

“We are commercializing livestock business. We have got $2.5 billion investment from Brazil during my visit to the country and it will help to turn what we see as tragedy to opportunities and prosperity.

“We are taking advantage of what is happening in Brazil and America and others in agriculture.

“More than 2, 000 tractors are coming into the country. We will give more incentives to farmers and take the country into mechanized farming. We cannot continue to use farm implements for agriculture in today’s agriculture,’’ Tinubu said.