By Ismail Mudashir
For bills, including the contentious Tax Reform Bills, to be passed at the National Assembly, they must pass through the following stages:
A bill is a draft of a proposed law presented before the Senate and House of Representatives for deliberation. Such a bill can be given by the executive or members of the National Assembly (Senators or House of Representatives).
The four Tax Reform Bills are executive bills from the executive arm of government.
1: First Reading:
The Tax Reform Bills, like all other executive bills, scaled through the first reading when the letter by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to that effect, was read on the floor of both chambers of the National Assembly ( Senate and House of Representatives).
At the first reading, the bills are introduced to senators and members of the House of Representatives.
2: Second Reading:
In the second reading, the general principles of the bills are discussed at the chambers. The bill’s sponsors will present their lead debate; other lawmakers will be allowed to speak on it afterwards.
Since the tax reform bills are from the executive branch, the Senate Leader, Michael Opayemi Bamidele, presented the lead debate last Thursday during the plenary presided over by the president of the Senate, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, GCON.
When a bill scales through a second reading, it is referred to relevant committees for further legislative actions.
The Tax Reform Bills were on Thursday referred to the Senate Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger State). It has six weeks to scrutinise the bills with stakeholders.
3: Committee Level
At this level, the bill would be subjected to thorough legislative scrutiny, and stakeholders would be given opportunities to contribute to shaping the draft laws.
The committee will organise a public hearing where all stakeholders, ulamas, pastors, socio-cultural, political, religious groups, experts, technocrats and other stakeholders would make input to the bills.
Before the public hearing, advertisements would be placed in newspapers while commercials would be aired on radio and television stations, requesting the submission of memoranda by stakeholders.
The committee Secretariat would aggregate the input of the stakeholders during the public hearing in addition to the memoranda submitted. This will form the committee’s report.
The input of the stakeholders is always the fulcrum of the committee’s report.
This is the level at which the Tax Reform Bills are now.
4: Third Reading.
At this point, the committee’s report would be presented and considered during the plenary in the chamber.
The chairman of the committee would present or lay the report. The chairman would read it.
After the reading, the clause-by-clause analysis of the bills will be done by a committee of the whole. All senators would vote on each clause of the bills.
If most senators vote in support of the bills, it would be passed for a third reading. If it is the other way around, it would be rejected.
The Tax Reform bills can be killed if the lawmakers vote against them.
But if the bill is passed, it would be sent to the Senate or House for concurrence, depending on its origin.
5 a: Signing of the Bill
After the bill is passed, the clerk will print and sign a final copy. The bill is issued after the appropriate presiding officer appends his signature.
5 b: President’s Assent/Signature
The final copy, as approved by both chambers, is presented to the president for his signature. The president’s signature is required to convert a bill into law, and section 58(4) of the Constitution requires the president to append his signature to the bill within 30 days of receipt.
The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I Jibrin, only presided over the plenary on Wednesday, during which the tax experts were allowed to educate the senators and indeed all Nigerians on tax reform bills.
During the sitting, Senator Barau neither supported nor kicked against the bill; instead, he emphasised an urgent need for all to be educated on the proposed laws. Nothing more.
