VDI: Opposition Presidential Candidates Endorse FG's New Tax Initiative

By Dansu Peter 

The 2023 general election opposition presidential candidates under the aegis of the Forum of Concerned Presidential Candidates have endorsed the Federal Government's VAT Direct Initiative program.

The endorsement was made when the forum paid a courtesy visit to the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, at the party secretariat in Abuja on Thursday.

According to reports, the delegation comprised the presidential candidate of the Action Peoples Party, Charles Nnadi; his counterpart in the National Rescue Movement, Felix Osakwe; the All Progressives Grand Alliance flag bearer, Prof. Peter Umeadi; the Action Democratic Party Vice Presidential Candidate, Dr. Odey Udo; and the leader of the team, Adewale Adeogun.

During the visit to the former Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, now the National Chairman of the APC, the Presidential Candidate of the National Rescue Movement, Felix Osakwe, led his colleagues to present the VDI brochure to the APC Chairman. Mr. Osakwe said the VDI is a wonderful initiative of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, and the Joint Tax Board, JTB, in collaboration with the Market Traders Association of Nigeria, MATAN, which aims to eliminate multiple taxation and capture revenue generation for the governments through the use of technology from the informal sectors.

According to Osakwe, the FIRS and the JTB, in collaboration with MATAN, have been working around the clock to perfect the takeoff of the initiative, which was described as a wonderful and innovative tax reform by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The VDI is a new tax idea by the FIRS, partnering with the Market Traders Association of Nigeria (MATAN) to collect and remit Value Added Tax (VAT) from their members—especially those in the informal sector—using unified systems technology.