LP Reacts As FG Moves To Stop Tax-evading Politicians From Seeking Elections

The Labour Party (LP) has thrown its weight behind the proposed bill seeking to stop politicians guilty of tax evasion from running for elective offices in the country.

It was earlier reported that the Executive is planning to send a bill to the National Assembly in the coming days, seeking to bar tax-evading politicians from contesting elections.

The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, made this known over the weekend while speaking at the 2024 strategic retreat for staff of the Joint Tax Board.

Oyedele also revealed that the federal government is planning to set up a National Tax Amnesty Programme.

Reacting to the move in a chat with The Punch on Sunday, the Chief Spokesman of the LP Campaign Organisation, Yunusa Tanko, commended the move by the government.

Tanko, however, expressed fear that much as the bill appears promising, the government may not be able to enforce it.

He said: “The need to bar politicians who are found wanting are things we need to do in our recruitment process. Even before it is presented to the National Assembly, it has already been established as a fact. After all, the law says if you have been convicted, you cannot stand for election.

“The only thing we have not been able to do is to enforce it. This is because anybody can come and raise a bill on anything. But we often fail to enforce that particular law.

“What we need actually is enforcement of the law so that at the end of it all, we are left with clean people who can run for election.”

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