The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said his stand and commitment to fiscal federalism for the country has not changed.
Newsonline reports that the former governor of Anambra State stated that the previous governments in the country failed to invest in youths to grow the tax base of the country.
The Labour Party presidential candidate who said this on Friday in Benin, Edo State during his campaign rally, added that governments at all levels are concerned about sharing of oil revenue without thinking about how to grow individual state revenues.
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“My stand on the issue of fiscal federalism hasn’t changed, because it will make the country productive. Whenever such controversies come up, what bothers me is that the country always concentrates on sharing; nobody is talking about how to generate income.”
Peter Obi added that the country through taxation can finance most of its projects for the development of the nation, but regretted that governments have failed to invest in the youths who are in their product years.
He stated that without investments in the youths and in Small and Medium Enterprises, growing government revenue outside oil revenue will be an impossible case.
“Taxation is an investment. We have 90M Nigerians who are not doing anything. The government first has to invest. How? By putting money into SMEs. In a bank, you can’t withdraw without paying in. Nigeria needs to invest in its people, after which they will pay back through taxes,” he added.
While addressing issues of certificate and the quality of president the country needs to elect in the 2023 election, Obi called on Nigerians to consider the integrity, character and competence of each of the presidential candidates for the benefit of all citizens while voting in 2023.
He reiterated that Nigerians should not vote based on ethnicity and religion, but on who can deliver the country from current security and economic challenges it faces.
“Let nobody come out to speak grammar or tell us about certificates. Luckily, I am one of those who can boast about certificates. Educational qualification is not a measure of integrity. We want people who have proven integrity in managing public trust,” Peter Obi said.
