Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has strongly criticised Nigeria’s newly introduced tax reforms, cautioning that policies which impose heavier burdens on poor citizens will inevitably trigger resistance.
Speaking during an interview on Monday, the human rights activist argued that Nigerians are already struggling economically and should not be subjected to additional tax pressure.
“Anybody who taxes poverty will reap resistance, because Nigerians are just too poor right now,” Sowore declared.
He insisted that reform efforts should focus on expanding the tax base rather than increasing levies on citizens who are already overtaxed.
“What I have always proposed is that we expand our tax base, not to increase taxes. We are not doing well in terms of how much taxes we are collecting. I think we are at 17 per cent, and a lot of countries around Africa are at about 20 per cent. It is that increase of how far we go that is important, not to tax people who are already overtaxed,” he explained.
Sowore also questioned the credibility of government data used to justify the reforms, accusing officials of manipulation and inconsistency.
“Any time you see data presented by these guys on statistics, lies and lies. You never get anything correct from them. At the end of the day, there will be resistance,” he said.
“You’ve heard that the tax regime that came into effect is not the one the National Assembly passed. A tax system that starts with fraud is not taxation; it is extortion.”
The Federal Government recently enacted four tax reform laws: the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025. Implementation began on January 1, 2026, but disputes quickly arose over alleged discrepancies between the versions passed by the National Assembly and those gazetted.
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, dismissed circulating versions as “fake,” attributing the confusion to an unauthorised draft gazette that has since been corrected.
To address public concerns, the House of Representatives released Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the four Acts signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, with Speaker Tajudeen Abbas ordering their immediate publication to ensure transparency.
The government has assured Nigerians that the new tax regime will not involve automatic debits from personal bank accounts. Oyedele emphasized that the reforms are designed to be progressive, protecting small businesses and vulnerable groups.
President Tinubu reaffirmed that implementation will proceed as scheduled, stressing that the reforms aim to strengthen Nigeria’s fiscal structure rather than raise taxes. The laws, signed in June 2025, include exemptions for individuals earning ₦800,000 or less annually and for small businesses with turnover below ₦100 million.
