Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno has dismissed insinuations that Northern governors were against President Bola Tinubu over his proposed tax reform policies, which is before the National Assembly.
Speaking during an interview on Channels TV on Sunday, the governor recalled that before the 2023 general elections, he was one of the few governors who insisted that power must be rotated to the south.
The governor explained that as a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, he backed Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
According to him, the north cannot be against Mr Tinubu, after earning over 60 percent of his votes from the region.
He regretted that some people were passing a negative narrative that the north is against Tinubu’s government.
“I am a strong member of APC. If you can count two governors before 2019 and 2023 who were in support of Tinubu, you can mention Governor Zulum. I was the first governor to come out publicly and say that power must go to the South.
“Unfortunately, the President was told by many that the North was against him. 60.2 percent of his votes came from the north,” he added.
Mr Zulum clarified that the governors’ grouse with the bill is to allow for further consultation before passage.
“We have never said no to Mr. President; what we’re saying is that let’s have wider consultations on this tax bill. Why are we in a rush?….We told the Chairman of FIRS to let us maintain the status quo,” he added.
Mr Zulum also maintained that many governors across the regions are against the bills.
“As at now, you cannot get 3 governors in Nigeria that are in support of this tax law,” Mr Zulum added.
