Reforms benefits: Citizens should demand more from public officers as from January – Senate Leader

By Adesina Wahab 

The Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has said with more revenue expected to flow into the purse of all the tiers of government from next January when the tax reforms by the federal government take effect, citizens should be able to make more demands on political officer holders regarding the discharge of their constitutional duties.

Bamidele, who gave the 37th convocation lecture at Yaba College of Technology, YABATECH, Lagos on Tuesday, noted that despite the initial doubt by some Nigerians about the necessity of the Tax Reforms Bills presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu, the lawmakers supported the action because they saw the numerous advantages in the bills.

Bamidele spoke on “Entrepreneurship development in the digital age: Leveraging technology for job creation”.

“Some people erroneously label the National Assembly a rubber stamp because they are not seeing the type of rancour that existed some years ago. But the situation in the country is not one that we should work at cross purposes. All hands must be on deck to move the country forward economically.

“When the Tax Reforms Bills were presented to the National Assembly, we called people in the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, whose chairman is incidentally the chairman of today’s occasion, and they came to educate us and they went ahead to educate the citizens across all zones. We are sure the reforms are necessary, and they will work and bring more revenue to the government. When that starts to happen from next January when the laws begin to take effects, people will be able to make greater demands on their political office holders as more revenue comes into the coffers of the government at all levels,” he stated.

On the establishment of more universities, Bamidele opined that it would give education a new lease of life and take it to a new phase.

He gave the assurance that the college would transit to Yaba University of Technology and Vocational Studies very soon.

On what the government should do to make more young Nigerians leverage on technology to become entrepreneurs, the senator advised that federal and state governments should prioritize digital skills training at basic digital literacy, coding and others starting from secondary school level upwards. 

He urged private sector and ecosystem players to partner with educational institutions to link curriculum to industry-relevant digital skills and provide internship for hands-on experience.

The Chairman of the occasion, who is also the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Prof. Taiwo Oyedele, said entrepreneurship is one of Nigeria’s most urgent needs.

“We must move from consuming technology to producing it. Our youths must be problem solvers not certificate holders for us to move forward as a nation. I am an alumnus of this institution and as it is transiting to a university, it must not lose the YABATECH advantage,” he said.

The Rector, Dr Ibraheem Abdul, said the country is at a time digital transformation is redefining global competitiveness and Nigeria must not lag behind.

He added that the institution is embarking on transformative initiatives that would redefine teaching, learning, research and innovation.

The Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof. Funso Afolabi, commended the choice of Bamidele as the speaker, saying his qualifications speak volumes.

He lauded the staff and management of the college for their dedication to duty and initiatives that are taking it to greater height. 

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