Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has sounded the alarm over Nigeria’s current approach to taxation, describing it as “a tool of confusion and burden rather than a mechanism for growth and development.”
In a statement, Obi argued that taxation must be rooted in transparency, fairness, and concern for citizens’ welfare, cautioning that the ongoing controversy over the National Assembly’s manipulated tax law threatens economic growth and public trust.
“For the first time in Nigeria’s history, a tax law has reportedly been forged. The National Assembly itself has admitted that the version gazetted is not what was passed into law,” Obi said.
“Yet citizens are being asked to pay higher taxes under this manipulated framework, without transparency, without explanation, and without corresponding benefits.”
Obi stressed that “taxing poverty does not create wealth; it deepens hardship,” urging the government to focus instead on empowering small and medium-sized enterprises, which he said are critical for job creation, income growth, and the natural expansion of the tax base.
“You cannot tax your way out of poverty, you must produce your way out of it,” Obi noted.
He called for a lawful, fair, and people-centered tax system that supports production, rewards enterprise, protects the vulnerable, and restores trust between government and citizens.
“Nigeria needs a fair, lawful, and people-centred tax system, only then can taxation become a true tool for unity, growth, and shared prosperity,” Obi concluded.
The statement positions Obi’s critique at the intersection of fiscal policy, social equity, and governance integrity, warning that revenue gains achieved at the expense of citizens’ welfare undermine the foundation for long-term economic development.
