From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that that the tax policy of the President Bola Tinubu administration is allegedly strangulating citizens.
Atiku, who is also the African Democratic Congress ( ADC) 2027 Presidential candidate, stated this, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication.
The former Vice President noted that no tax policy can succeed in an economy where businesses are already struggling to survive. According to him, successful tax systems are built on expanding productivity, creating jobs and widening the tax base through economic growth—not by extracting more from an already distressed economy.
Atiku said “Government cannot tax its way into prosperity while simultaneously shrinking the productive capacity of the economy. Manufacturers are battling record energy costs. Small businesses face multiple taxes, rising electricity tariffs, escalating logistics expenses and declining consumer demand. Families are paying more for virtually every essential service.”
“A tax reform that expands government revenue while ordinary citizens become poorer cannot honestly be described as progressive.”
He added “In attempting to rebut our position, the Presidency inadvertently strengthened it. It admitted that despite higher international crude oil prices, Nigerians cannot fully benefit because substantial volumes of the nation’s crude have already been committed under crude-backed financing arrangements. That is not a defence. It is an indictment.”
“If the proceeds of Nigeria’s most valuable natural resource have already been committed through opaque financing arrangements, Nigerians deserve full disclosure.”
“Who authorised these transactions? How many barrels have been pledged? What are the repayment terms? How much has been received? Which projects have been financed? Who are the counterparties? These are not political questions; they are constitutional questions about transparency and accountability.
“No government that refuses to fully disclose the terms under which future crude oil revenues have been committed can credibly lecture Nigerians about prudence and accountability.”
“If subsidy has truly ended and the reforms are yielding the benefits being advertised, Nigerians deserve to see those benefits reflected not merely in government spreadsheets but in their homes, their businesses and their daily lives.”
The former Vice President stated that repeated attempt by the present administration to attribute Nigeria’s present challenges to the Obasanjo administration was an excuse that had become both tired and insulting to the intelligence of Nigerians.
“Under President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria successfully negotiated a historic Paris Club debt relief package worth approximately $18 billion, ending decades of unsustainable external debt overhang and restoring the country’s international financial credibility. That landmark achievement was not inherited; it was earned through disciplined economic management, difficult negotiations and credible reforms.
“That administration also implemented banking sector consolidation, liberalised the telecommunications industry, established the Excess Crude Account to save oil revenues for future generations, strengthened Nigeria’s anti-corruption institutions, pursued pension reforms, privatised inefficient state enterprises and expanded private sector participation across key sectors of the economy.”
(The Sun)
