Our Reporter, Abuja
The National Opposition Movement (NOM) on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s newly signed tax laws, describing them as “an exploitative racket” redolent of what it called Tinubu’s coercive Lagos State revenue template, and demanding their immediate suspension.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, the Spokesperson of the opposition coalition group, Hon. Chille Igbawua, warned that the proposed tax regime was not a reform but “an assault on the livelihood of ordinary Nigerians” at a time the country is grappling with worsening insecurity, poverty and economic distress.
Addressing journalists, NOM leaders said Nigeria was at the brink of what they termed “multidimensional failure,” marked by unsafe cities, rising homelessness, hunger and collapsing quality of life. They accused the Tinubu administration of compounding the crisis by prioritising political and oligarchic interests over the welfare and security of citizens.
“The situation in Nigeria today is terrible. Many Nigerians can barely afford food, transport, electricity or rent,” the group said.
“Yet, at this critical moment, the Tinubu administration is preparing to roll out the most punitive and exploitative tax regime in Nigeria’s history.”
The opposition movement argued that even colonial authorities did not impose taxes as harsh as those being proposed, particularly against low-income earners, the unemployed and small businesses. According to NOM, the planned January rollout of the tax laws shows “thoughtlessness” and an “unyielding commitment to protect oligarchs at the expense of ordinary Nigerians.”
NOM alleged that under the new tax framework, all adults of taxable age, including the unemployed, would be compelled to file tax returns within a narrow window, with penalties attached for non-compliance. The group described this as “mindless” in a country with tens of millions of unemployed people, weak internet penetration and poor service delivery by public institutions.
“In a country where small and medium enterprises are barely surviving, the government is piling pressure on them without offering any serious business support,” the movement said, adding that Nigerians earning below the minimum wage would be “heavily taxed” despite the removal of subsidies and rising tariffs.
The opposition further accused the Tinubu administration of asking citizens to “give more and more” while public office holders allegedly “take more and more,” warning that the government was pushing Nigerians to their limits.
While aligning itself with recent criticisms from opposition politicians, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), NOM said it would resist any policy that punishes the poor to excuse leadership failure.
The group also raised concerns about transparency and accountability, alleging widespread state capture and grand corruption within key revenue agencies. It questioned the rationale behind an undisclosed memorandum of understanding between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and a French agency on tax administration, warning of possible threats to Nigeria’s strategic interests.
“Nigerians are being asked to pay more without being promised anything in return,” NOM said.
“From past experience, higher taxes under this administration will not translate into better hospitals, schools, security or jobs.”
The movement argued that the proposed tax drive mirrors the controversial removal of fuel subsidy, whose gains, it claimed, remain unaccounted for while funding what it described as a bloated and flamboyant government.
Warning of potential social and economic fallout, NOM said concentrating extensive powers in the hands of revenue authorities in a country with weak safeguards invites abuse and deepens public distrust.
“This government is dangerously out of touch with reality,” the group declared.
“You cannot tax hunger. You cannot tax poverty. And you cannot tax people into prosperity.”
The opposition coalition issued five key demands, including the immediate suspension of the tax plan’s implementation, nationwide consultations with labour and civil society, explicit social protection guarantees, a focus on taxing luxury and excess profits rather than poverty, and strong legal safeguards to protect taxpayer rights.
“Nigeria does not suffer from low taxation,” the statement concluded.
“Nigeria suffers from waste, corruption, mismanagement and policy arrogance. You do not fix government failure by billing the victims.”
NOM warned that if the tax plan is forced through without suspension and consultation, the government would bear full responsibility for the social and economic consequences, stressing that the warning was “grounded in reality” and not a threat.
