Former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke says the tax reforms being proposed by President Bola Tinubu will help rebalance the country.
He adds that the reforms have been long overdue and when fully implemented, all regions of the country will reap from it.
Mr Duke, who made the remarks in an interview with State House Correspondents, said he took his time to read the proposed bill and he sees something good in it.
“I took time to read and study it. It will rebalance Nigeria completely but I think it is lacking and why there is a lot of hue and cry is because not enough education was done, we just heard that a bill was sent to the National Assembly.
“What they should have done is to engage more because if you want to do something that is so pivotal and different from what has been done in the past, you‘ve got to educate people on what you are trying to do.
“But I think at the end of the day, it takes into cognizance the federal structure of Nigeria,” he said.
The former Governor also suggested how youths can be encouraged to embrace agriculture, as a means of addressing unemployment.
He said: “One thing I think we miss in agriculture is that we talk about it but the average farmer does not only need to produce, he has to sell. So, I think we need to go back and look at the agricultural strategy whereby, if I’m producing something like tomatoes, you need to give me the guarantee that what I produce, will be bought.
“The farmer cannot produce, store and sell, the farmer cannot do all that. All he wants to do is to farm and then there should be agencies that will come and take it off him.
“At the beginning of the farming seasons, guarantee the farmer a price for what he is producing and if he is satisfied with that he will put in his energy. So it is a function of strategy. Not that the young people are not interested in farming, but you have to guarantee that they will earn an income from it.”
Olusola Akintonde
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