An organisation under the auspices of the Northern Youth Forum (NYF) has exonerated the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, from what they termed misconceptions by his detractors over the passage of the second reading of the Tax Reform Bill.
Making this known at an emergency press briefing, the Chairman of NYF, Alhaji Yahaya Usman, dismissed claims by some sections of society that the Deputy Senate President is an enemy of Kano and the North.
According to him, “Sequel to the controversy surrounding the Tax Reform Bill originating from the National Assembly after the issuance of the President’s request, Northern people should understand the fact that it’s DSP Barau Jibrin’s duty to preside over the plenaries in the absence of the Senate President.
“He neither campaigned for nor advocated for the proposed Tax Reform Bill; he only read the bill and quickly passed it to allow the public to make commitments.”
He then said, “The Northern Youth Forum strongly exonerates the Deputy President of the 10th Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin Maliya, regarding the matter in question and vehemently rejects the false allegations made by his detractors.”
However, the group then invited experts to explain the systemic bills, as he discerned that the majority of the members, including himself and many Nigerians, do not grasp what the bill entails.
The NYF said, “We call on the victims of this misconception, orchestrated by the enemies of Kano and the North, who are just trying to undermine Barau Jibrin’s integrity in their eyes, to kindly disregard it.”
“Besides, how could Sen. Barau Jibrin, who facilitated and championed the establishment of the Northwest Development Commission in his effort to boost socio-economic development in the region, partake in the cahoot of destroying the North? This is impossible and unbelievable.”
Meanwhile, the Kano Chairman of the organising committee of the bride’s family, Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan Agundi, had said there was no iota of truth in the purported claims alleging that the marriage of the daughter of Senator Barau Jibrin, earlier slated to hold in Kano, was taken to Abuja because of the tension generated from the outcry over the tax returns bill.
According to a statement signed on his behalf by Sarkin Dawaki Babba, Chairman of the organising committee of the bride’s family, Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan Agundi, said there was no iota of truth in the purported claims.
The statement reads, “Why We Moved Our Daughter’s Wedding to Senator Barau’s Son to Abuja—Ado Bayero’s Family.”
“Our attention has been drawn to false and misleading reports circulating on social media regarding the wedding of our daughter, Maryam Nasir Ado Bayero, to Jibrin (Abba) Barau I Jibrin, the son of the Deputy President of the Senate.”
Sarkin Dawaki Babba then stated: “These reports claim that the wedding has been relocated from Kano to Abuja due to tensions surrounding the Tax Reform Bills.”
“I, Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan Agundi, Sarkin Dawaki Babba of Kano, wish to clearly state as follows, on behalf of the bride’s families:”
“That the decision to change the location of our daughter’s wedding from Kano to Abuja was purely and solely the decision of our families and not that of our daughter’s would-be husband’s family—the Deputy President of the Senate. Based on our tradition, the responsibility of picking the venue or location of the wedding rests on the shoulders of the bride’s family.”
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