The National Economic Council (NEC) has advised President Bola Tinubu to withdraw the Tax Reforms Bill from the National Assembly to allow for wider consultations.

Governor Seyi Makinde, Oyo State Governor, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the 144th NEC meeting held in Abuja on Thursday.

Makinde said the council agreed that it was necessary to allow time for consensus building and understanding on the bill.

He said: “NEC noted the need for sufficient alignment on the proposed reforms and recommended the withdrawal of the tax reform bill for the benefit of the entire country.

“We saw the gap and decided that there is a need for a wider consultation.”

Tinubu had forwarded the Tax Reform Bill to the National Assembly for passage into law.

The contentious bill has been a source of rancour between the federal government and the Northern Governors Forum which had rejected the proposed bill due to its new provision of VAT.

The proposed bill has suggested that the distribution of VAT revenue on alcohol should be based on the derivation principle