A law that will make estimated billing punishable is in the offing. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this yesterday.

He said the lower chamber would make a law for estimated billing to be treated as a criminal offence, describing estimated billing as a fraudulent practice. He spoke in Abuja at the sidelines of the on-going 25th anniversary of the Nigerian Economic Summit (NES).

“Do they have capacity? Are they just briefcase businessmen? For me, we need to get our priorities right. When you privatise to the wrong people, you rubbish the whole exercise,” he said.

According to the speaker, “Nigeria is the only country in the world that operates estimated bill system.

“The power sector is fundamental and very important to small and medium enterprises. We have to address it (power) frontally.”

The speaker also disclosed the intension of the legislature to return the budget cycle from January to December.

He said the budget was a document that represents the blueprint of the government and there was the need for it to be passed early.

On ease of doing business, Gbajabiamila said the Assembly intended to remove some of the unnecessary regulations that impede ease of doing business.

“We will identify the ones that have outlived their purpose and remove them,” he said.

Recall that Nigeria was rated 146 out 190 countries of the world in the ease of doing business.

The tax system, the speaker said, would be reformed with a view to making it easy for people to pay their tax, as tax was not meant to be a burden to Nigerians.

On the banking sector, he said its operation would be reviewed to make it possible for the middle class to borrow from the banks.

“We don’t have the middle class because the middle class cannot borrow from the banks. The local content laws target the middle class,” he said. (New Telegraph)

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