Global Taxation to Fund SDGs Anarchic, Unacceptable – Jimoh Ibrahim

The lawmaker representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Senator Jimoh Ibrahimh, has told the United Nations that proposing a global tax to fund the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was inappropriate and unacceptable.

Ibrahim, according to a statement by his Media Office, stated this during the interparliamentary opening session in New York yesterday.

He said the international system was anarchic and lacked the authority to comply, asserting that there was no comprehensive international system in place.

According to him, global taxes will further exacerbate inequality within the geocentric system and could also increase poverty, undermining the United Nations’ efforts to eradicate poverty by 2030.

As an alternative, Ibrahim suggested that environmental polluters compensate Africa to alleviate the debt burden.

“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 SDGs,” he said.

Ibrahim identified that, among other issues, the SDGs struggle to achieve the goal of poverty eradication because many who are invested in meaningful outcomes are being excluded.

He said, “Furthermore, there is a lack of transparency, a deficit of trust, a significant failure of multilateralism, and insufficient support from non-state actors for the SDGs.”

The federal lawmaker informed the United Nations that the year 2030 was approaching rapidly, emphasising a major shortfall in achieving the primary goal of poverty eradication. He advises that a review is becoming increasingly necessary.

Ibrahim, who praised President Bola Tinubu for upholding his commitment to the SDGs in his budget proposal at the United Nations Interparliamentary, urged the United Nations to reflect inward, as time is critical for the success of the SDGs.