Governments of Southwestern States have been charged to review the approach to debt and taxes in the respective states in order to reduce economic burdens on the citizens.
The call was made by the Global Director of Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative
Mr Abideen Olasupo and students of tertiary institutions across the zone who gathered Osogbo on Thursday.
The 16 students who participated in the debt and tax justice debate organised by BBYDI in collaborations with Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center and Christian Aid, condemned the rising debt profiles of the southwestern states.
Speaking at the event, Olasupo called on State governments to foster conversations with key stakeholders on debt and tax justice.
He said some Nigerians prefer to evade tax as they have not seen development that commensurate to the taxes paid to the government confers, calling on government to join conversation towards bringing necessary reforms needed in the sector.
He noted that the citizens empowered people at the helm of affairs with their vote, charging Nigerians to vote based on the credibility, competence, capacity, and character of the politicians to have the power to ask the right questions at the right time.
According to him, “A lot of Nigerians are complaining about the fact that the amount borrowed is not commensurate with the infrastructure development that we are witnessing. That is the reason why we are giving undergraduates an opportunity as well to contribute to this topic that is of germane interest to everyone.
“We had an impressive number of applications from 100 applications to 72 down to 16 that come across tertiary institutions in the southwest, debating topics and providing lasting solutions is one thing to have a conversation about a topic, it’s another thing to confirm the data and solution.
“What we are doing here today is to give a voice to the voiceless to allow undergraduate students as well to contribute to issues on debt and tax justice.
“We are saying the government should come and see us as part of that for us to have a lasting solution to these issues of tax and debt justice every hand must be on deck and we must provide a lasting solution.
“The government needs to be proactive they need to see citizens as one and when the conversation around development has been taking place the government should always be at that table.
“The government should look inward, believe you me if I see value for taxes, I’m ready to pay taxes.”
He appreciated the support of the Christian Aid, CISLAC and other partners.
Ramadan Oladipupo, a student of University of Lagos emerged the winner of the contest and went home with a sum of N100,000 while first and second runners-up also got cash prizes.
Speaking with InsightMedia, Oladipupo expressed his excitement and appreciation for the program’s organizers highlighting the positive impact his participation in the debate will have in his future endeavors.
