Some prominent lawyers in Lagos on
Thursday kicked against the payment of taxes by religious organisations in the
country.
Delegates at the ongoing National
Conference in Abuja had on Wednesday voted in support of taxing both churches
and mosques.
The lawyers told NAN that the move by
the conference was a clear misplacement of priorities.
A human rights lawyer, Mr Bamidele
Aturu, said the delegates should focus on important issues that would foster
the unity and development of Nigeria.
“For me, it is a misplacement of
their priorities and they are only going to create more controversies which may
make their report unacceptable at the end of the day,” he said.
Another lawyer, Mr Wale Ogunade, said
the conference should address issues such as unemployment, poverty, corruption
and national unity.
Ogunade said: “This is just a diversion
because there are more pressing issues. The government has not exhausted the
money being generated from oil and other mineral resources.
“The delegates should be concerned
with how to make the government accountable to Nigerians on how our resources
are being spent.
“By doing this, many Nigerians,
including churches and mosques, will voluntarily start paying their taxes”.
On his part, Mr Uche Edeh, a
Lagos-based lawyer, said taxing religious organisations could lead to crisis
because it would be difficult to enforce.
Edeh advised Nigerians to exercise
caution on the issue in order not to heat up the polity.
Mr Adebamigbe Omole, a former Chairman
of the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, however, supported the
recommendation of the conference.
“I am in total support because some
of the religious centres have been commercialised.
“They are making so much money and I
think the best thing for us to do is to make them to pay taxes because the
government needs money,” he said. (NAN)
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