The lawmaker representing Ondo South in the Senate, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, has urged the United Nations Global Parliament to halt its proposal for a global tax to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Senator Ibrahim made this statement during the interparliamentary opening session in New York, a message later made available to journalists in Abuja, Nigeria.
He argued that such a tax is inappropriate and unacceptable, emphasizing that the international system is inherently anarchic and lacks the necessary authority to enforce compliance.
According to him, there is no comprehensive global governance structure in place to effectively implement such a tax policy.
Lawmaker argued that the global taxes would further aggravate inequality within the system and could also increase poverty, undermining the United Nations’ efforts to eradicate poverty by 2030.
However, Senator Jimoh suggested that environmental polluters should compensate Africa to help alleviate its debt burden adding that, “It is time for African legislators to act decisively and compel the rest of the world to pay compensation for climate impacts so that we can finance our Sustainable Development Goals.”
Ibrahim highlighted, among other issues, that the SDGs struggle to achieve the goal of poverty eradication because many stakeholders committed to meaningful outcomes are being excluded.
Furthermore, he said the SDGs face challenges such as a lack of transparency, a deficit of trust, a significant failure of multilateralism, and inadequate support from non-state actors.
Ibrahim urged the United Nations to recognize that the year 2030 is fast approaching, highlighting a major shortfall in achieving the primary goal of poverty eradication.
He advises that a review is becoming increasingly necessary.
He openly commended President Tinubu for upholding his commitment to the SDGs in his budget proposal at the United Nations Interparliamentary, urging the United Nations to reflect inward, as time is so important for the success of the SDGs.
Rel/ Bashir M
