₦airaland Forum

Tune in to the State of the Nation Press Conference, at the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre in Abuja. The event will be live-streamed on this platform. -AA

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Being the text of the press conference by the National Opposition Movement (NOM), at the Shehu Yar’adua Centre, Abuja on Wednesday, November 17, 2025.

PRESS STATEMENT

We called this press conference today because Nigeria is at a threshold of multidimensional failure. It is unsafe to travel across Nigerian cities. Poverty is worsening, and homelessness and starvation are realities that Niger face. At no time in the history of the country has life been so short, so brutish and so miserable for citizens. Global economic index rates Nigeria as the country with the lowest quality of life, lower than our poor neighbors like Benin, Togo and Niger. The tragedy is that the Federal Government is compounding this multidimensional failure by focusing on its political interests and not the security and welfare of the Nigerian people.

As Nigeria drifts into multidimensional failure, many patriotic citizens are worried that the imminent collapse of Nigerian democracy through the comprehensive incompetence and corruption of the Tinubu administration would gravely compromise the security and human development crises in West Africa. These patriotic citizens are now coming together under the umbrella of the Nigeria Opposition Movement, to keep vigil on the developments around security and prosperity of the Nigerian people under the mismanagement of the Tinubu administration and to raise our voices as sentinels of national liberation and transformation. We are worried the several failures of the Tinubu administration has not elicited the right kind of response from Nigerian political class. But we are elated to note that on the 14th of December we woke up to the gratifying news of a statement from a select group of leaders who chose to identify with the people by speaking out against Tyranny. We deeply commend their courage and commitment to the cause of the voiceless downtrodden. Posterity will forever acknowledge their act of selflessness and patriotism. We also note with approval the efforts by the organized Labour through the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress to challenge the massive impoverishment of Nigerians through Tinubu’s self-serving economic policies. We associate with the NLC and the TUC in their heroic efforts in the tradition of organized labour in Nigeria to fight for dignity and freedom of the working people.

The situation in Nigeria today is terrible. Many Nigerians can barely afford food, transport, security, or pay their electricity bills and rents. It is sad that at a time as this that the Tinubu administration is preparing to roll out the most punitive and exploitative tax regime in the history of Nigeria. Even the colonial authority in its viciousness did not contemplate taxing poor Nigerians the way Tinubu plans at the beginning of the years. The viciousness of this administration shows that Nigeria would be hit with these exploitative and inhuman tax regimes in January when they do not have the fiscal space for such sacrifices. This exploitative tax regime points to the thoughtlessness of the Tinubu administration and its unyielding commitment to cater to the financial interests of the oligarchs to the detriment of the ordinary Nigerians who he continues to punish with all manners of taxes and raising prices. Let us be clear, what President Tinubu is rolling out in January is not a tax reform; it is an assault on the livelihood of ordinary Nigerians who he has not hidden his contempt and whose prosperity is not part of the agenda of his government.

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According to the new tax law, all adults of taxable age, whether employed or not, must file a tax return between January 1 and 31st March 2026 after which sanction for non-filling will begin to apply. For owners of companies, you must file for all your employees even if they are paid below the taxable bracket. Remember, you cannot make the filling if you do not have Tax Identification Number. This is so mindless. In a country where over 70million are unemployed, where people do not have good access to internet services and where the level of service delivery from state institutions are poor or almost non-existent, President Tinubu has set up an exploitative racket against innocent Nigerians. This reads like a strategy from the infamous Lagos governance. Small and medium businesses are struggling to survive under a bad policy environment. Yet, Tinubu continues to pile pressure on them and does not provide any serious business support

By the new tax plan, Nigerian earning less than minimum wage will be heavily taxed. The government has removed all subsidies and exposed low wage earners and the unemployed to high tariffs. Still, the government intends to overtax them, creating damaging human development and truncating any prospect of serious and sustained economic growth.

This government continues to ask Nigerians to give more and more while it allows those in public office to take more and more. Tinubu has brought Nigerians to their knees. But Tinubu will not relent till he brings Nigerians to the grave. We will not allow suffering Nigerians to be brought to the grave. We, as Nigerian Opposition Movement have decided to stand up in support of those opposition politicians who issued the letter a few days ago and the NLC and TUC to say enough is enough.

This tax plan must not take off now. Its implementation must be suspended immediately. This is not tax reform. This tax is a weapon fashioned against the economic wellbeing and social security of suffering and poor Nigerian citizens.

This government is asking Nigerians who have already been brought down on their knees by the weight of poverty and squalor and have nothing left to give, to give more. No. You cannot tax hunger. You cannot tax poverty. And you cannot tax people into prosperity. Since he came to office, President has shown where his heart is. It is not with the Nigerian people. It is with the few oligarchs who are attached to his economic and political interest. The bad policies of the administration are intentionally so because President Tinubu is not committed to prosperity of ordinary citizens. He is committed to getting and keeping political power as a tool of creating wealth for himself and his family and friends. This is bad for Nigeria.

As leaders of conscience, we cannot justify Tinubu’s exploitative taxes against the poor in Nigeria because there is no evidence of prudence or due process in this administration. For the past 2 years and more, we have witnessed the most expansive state capture in Nigerian history. The nation’s revenue agencies like the NNPC and FIRS are reeking with grand corruption. The Tinubu administration does not recognize transparency and accountability. It continues to conduct its business in secrecy as if the Nigerian federation has become Tinubu family incorporated. For instance, why would the FIRS enter an MOU with a French agency regarding management of Nigerian tax regime and refuse to publicly disclose the contents of the MOU, especially in the circumstances where Tinubu has made France his second home and business center? Does public interest not dictate that FIRS publishes the MOU since Nigerians are worried at the prospect of the business deal with France compromising Nigeria’s strategic national interests.

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Since Tinubu came to power, it has been one allegation and report of one high-level grand corruption or another, starting with the mind-boggling corruption of the former Minister of Humanitarian Services whose corruption cases have been swept under carpet. For the first time in history, a leading Nigerian private sector businessman is opening accusing Tinubu’s top regulator of brazen corruption. This has never been seen or heard in Nigeria.

President Tinubu idea of public leadership has no place for social contract, no place for due process or protection of national norms and institutional standards. Recently, Professor Wole Soyinka, a staunch supporter of Tinubu administration, was forced to voice out great distress at the privatization of the Nigerian state by the Tinubu administration. He said Seyi Tinubu, the President’s son who has no public office, has sufficient military and police escort to overrun Benin. That is typical Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigerian president: do not care about what Nigerians feel or think, he just keeps it in the family. It is about me and my family. To hell with Nigerians.

Therefore, in the context of President Tinubu’s administration war against Nigerians, we do not believe the new taxes would serve any public good. From the experience of the past, Tinubu’s higher taxes will translate into better hospitals, schools, security, or jobs. Nigerians are being asked to pay more — without being promised anything in return.

This tax drive is not different from the reckless removal of fuel subsidy where the resultant gains which are unaccounted for, rather than being injected into productive economy for the benefits of the citizens is being deployed to funding the flamboyance of a bloated government, cronies and families. The opaque outsourcing through an MOU with a French concern is a disturbing indicator that no accountability is intended.

Tinubu is not focused on governance. He is focused on brazen exploitation. We reject this tax because the timing is cruel, and the logic is irrational. Fuel subsidy removal, naira collapse, food inflation, and rising electricity tariffs have already pushed households and small businesses to the edge. Introducing an aggressive tax regime now, not only shows but indeed confirms the widely held belief of   a government dangerously out of touch with reality. As an oligarch and authoritarian, Tinubu by this tax plan concentrates enormous powers in the hands of revenue authorities in a country with weak safeguards. Account access (already being enforced), penalties, and automated enforcement without strong oversight invite abuse. When citizens fear the taxman more than they trust the government, something is fundamentally wrong.

OUR DEMANDS

The National Opposition Movement demands:

1. Immediate suspension of the tax plan’s take-off date

2. Nationwide consultation involving labour, civil society, SMEs, professionals, and states

3. Explicit social protection guarantees tied to any tax reform

4. A focus on taxing luxury, excess profits, monopolies, and corruption , not poverty

5. Strong legal safeguards to protect taxpayer rights

Nigeria does not suffer from low taxation.

Nigeria suffers from waste, corruption, mismanagement, and policy arrogance.

You do not fix government failure by billing the victims.

CLOSING STATEMENT

We stand with Nigerian workers, traders, professionals, and small businesses.

We will resist any policy that punishes the poor to excuse leadership failure.

If this tax plan is forced through without suspension and consultation, the government will be fully responsible for the social and economic consequences.

This is not a threat.

It is a warning grounded in reality.

Nigeria is hurting.

And the suffering Nigerians have limits. Let us warn Tinubu and his enforcers, the crisis in the West Africa is a crisis of unaccountable governance, of authoritarian rule without accountability, and state capture guided by greed and arrogance.

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Nigeria should be saved the misfortune of stoking the fire of conflict that will destroy the prospect of democracy and development in Nigeria. The government should end its provocation of Nigeria and suppression of the voices of opposition politicians, labour leaders and civil society leaders. The government should release its stranglehold on Nigeria.

Tinubu should let Nigerians breathe. Enough of poverty, enough of insecurity, enough the burden of his taskmaster, enough of assault against opposition leaders. As we close the year, we close Tinubu’s gross incompetence and assault on the integrity and stability of the Nigerian state.

Thank you.

RESPONSE TO THE NATIONAL OPPOSITION MOVEMENT (NOM) PRESS CONFERENCE
(With International Authorities and Precedents)

It is time to cut the crap and let Nigeria move forward with long-overdue tax reform.

What the National Opposition Movement has offered Nigerians is not a credible alternative economic vision but a familiar mixture of alarmism, selective outrage, and political nostalgia. Over-recycled, excessively ambitious politicians must snap out of their fearmongering. The alternative exists, and it is responsible governance rooted in reform. We are the national opposition movement because we always offer pragmatic solutions not this set of unimaginative, recycled, past-their-shelf-life gangs of failed politicians who mistake noise for policy and outrage for ideas.

Those who presided over years of fiscal indiscipline, opaque revenue systems, and structural weakness should prepare for elections not attempt, in their imagination, to obstruct a reform process that is essential to restructuring Nigeria’s finances and building a sustainable fiscal framework for the future.

Globally, Nigeria is not acting in isolation, nor is it experimenting recklessly. The reforms underway are consistent with international best practice.

As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has repeatedly stated:

“A broad tax base with limited exemptions is the most efficient and equitable way to raise revenue and support inclusive growth.”

Similarly, the World Bank has been unequivocal on the relationship between development and tax reform:

“Countries that succeed in reducing poverty and inequality do so by building strong domestic revenue systems that are transparent, predictable, and broadly based.”

Across Africa, countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa expanded taxpayer registration, introduced compulsory tax identification, digital filing, and stricter compliance regimes often in periods of economic stress. These reforms were resisted politically, branded anti-poor, and accused of bad timing. Yet today, these countries enjoy stronger revenue performance, improved investor confidence, and greater fiscal space for social spending.

The OECD, in its guidance on tax policy for developing economies, is explicit:

“Low tax-to-GDP ratios are not a sign of compassion for the poor; they are a symptom of weak states that cannot deliver essential public goods.”

Even India’s landmark tax reforms universal tax identification and the GST were met with fierce opposition. Responding to critics, India’s former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated:

“No reform is painless, but the cost of not reforming is always higher than the cost of reform.”

Nigeria has already walked this road. The same voices condemning tax reform today declared that removing fuel subsidy would collapse the country. Instead, Nigeria dismantled what the IMF described as:

“A regressive, inefficient subsidy system that disproportionately benefits the wealthy while draining public finances.”

They made identical claims about reforms in the foreign exchange regime. Today, international rating agencies and global peer-review institutions acknowledge improved transparency and coherence in Nigeria’s FX framework.

Tax reform is not an assault on Nigerians. Fiscal irresponsibility is. What truly punishes the poor is inflation driven by deficits, currency instability caused by weak revenues, and a government forced into endless borrowing because it cannot collect efficiently. No country none has ever built a resilient economy without a functioning, enforceable tax system.

As former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned:

“Good governance and sustainable development are impossible without adequate domestic resources.”

Opposition is legitimate. Propaganda is not. Nigeria cannot be held hostage by those who offer no credible alternatives beyond suspension, delay, and a return to fiscal chaos. Reform is never painless, but postponing reform only deepens the pain and transfers the burden to future generations.

Nigeria is following the same difficult but necessary path taken by reforming economies across the world. Those who oppose it should do so with facts, honesty, and workable solutions not theatrical despair and recycled slogans.

Quit the childish propaganda.
Let us have the tax reform.
Let us build a sustainable future.

Otunba Segun Showunmi
The Alternative.

naptu2:
Segun Showunmi is a former spokesman of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and he was one of the founders of the National Opposition Movement, but in an interesting twist he is opposing the statement of his former organisation.

Segun (🦁) Showunmi (PhD) @SegunShowunmi



https://x.com/i/status/2001346750238605408

iLoveYouToo:
Bunch of jokers. What kind of trash is this

STEWpid:
C h a i..









Once they're out of power, people in government are corrupt,

But when they're in power, there is no single atom of corruption in their government.

They know how to brainwash their sheeples.

Even Dubai Landlord dey there,,

Lobakukutan banyan,,

iLoveYouToo:
Bunch of jokers. What kind of trash is this

naptu2:
Full video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnlIpAMZ2f4?si=Qq8SCNXIzhQJU3yF

https://x.com/i/status/2001314763809153292

Pythagoras001:
Government transparency first before taxation. You can't start with taxation before working on transparency. transparency for every kobo recieved.. fix that first when everyone can see and feel it then taxation follow

naptu2:
Short video


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyYCESMe49E?si=nu_kijo2tSZL4box


Atiku Abubakar @atiku



https://x.com/i/status/2001297204401623182


The press conference was held at the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre in Abuja. It was addressed by NOM spokesperson Chille Igbawua.  Activist Aisha Yesufu, former Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, former Director-General of the PDP Governors Forum, CID Maduabum, and Dr Sam Amadi, former Chairman of the NERC were present.

Paul Ibe is the spokesman of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.


Paul Ibe @omonlakiki



source

zoedew:
Try harder. From PDP to APC to PDP to ADC to NOM. Atiku will catch nothing as usual. He is described in Obasanjo's book as a thief. Atiku has neither publicly denied that or gone to court to sue Obasanjo for libel. In the result it is true that Atiku is corrupt and a thief!
You guys do not love Nigeria. The educated know that. That Tax initiative is one of the best things to happen to Nigeria in recent times. Nigerians generally don't pay tax and is one big reason they take voting and accountability by elected government officials lightly. Its implementation will make Nigerians more politically conscious and demanding of accountability from elected officials who mismanage the finances of Nigeria. You cannot be paying tax and not be interested in how it is used. Before now the tax net in Nigeria was loose.

Ekpeitut:
Nigerians are united on this. No self seeking druglord will turn Nigeria into his private estate. We will heavily resist him. This is just the begining.

Everything about the tax initiative is shrouded in vagueness no concrete benefits or timelines to see benefits only out to take from the vulnerable masses. Worst of all Timlubu is partnering with France to implement this travesty. They cannot even make public the details of the MOA signed.