Tax Reforms Push-Back: Opposition’s Political Gimmickry or Genuine Love for the Masses?

Olabode Opeseitan

As they filed into the press hall at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, the desperation was not just audible, it was visible.

From the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) like Solomon Dalung, Kenneth Okonkwo and Chille Igbawua, who spoke for the group tagged Nigeria Opposition Movement, the gathering looked less like a united front and more like a wounded chorus.

They were joined by others like activist Aisha Yesufu.

Their demand? That the federal government suspend the new tax laws set to take effect in January 2026. Their claim? That the reforms are exploitative. Their vow? Lawful resistance. Their appeal? That Nigerians join their petition against what they called a harmful policy.

But harmful to whom?

In a democracy where opposition voices have thinned to the point of near extinction, any moment of protest deserves scrutiny. Especially when it masquerades as concern for the masses but smells unmistakably of political mischief.

Unlike the backdoor decrees of the past, this tax reform journey was one of the most consultative in Nigeria’s legislative history. Town hall meetings were held across all six geo-political zones. The policy was debated with the Governors’ Forum, Labour Congress, Manufacturers Association, and civil society. Media interviews were granted. National Assembly hearings were attended. Compromises were reached. The National Assembly passed the bills. The President signed them into law. Implementation was deferred until January 2026 to allow for public awareness and institutional readiness.

This is not how a government hides a harmful policy. This is how a responsible state builds consensus.

Now to the substance. The 2026 tax reforms are not a punitive ambush but a structural correction. They exempt individuals earning below N800,000 annually from personal income tax. They shield small businesses with turnover below N100 million from Company Income Tax, VAT, and the new Development Levy. They consolidate four separate levies such as TETFund, NITDA, NASENI, and the Police Trust Fund into a single 4% Development Levy, making compliance simpler and more transparent. They introduce a 15% minimum tax on multinationals, aligning Nigeria with global standards and ending the era of corporate freeloading. And they modernize tax administration through a new Nigeria Revenue Service, digitizing processes and reducing corruption.

The reforms are not just about revenue, they are about fairness. They are about shifting the burden from the poor to those who can afford to pay. They are about ending the chaos of multiple taxation and replacing it with clarity. They are about funding education, healthcare, and infrastructure not through loans and handouts, but through a fair, long-term agreement where citizens and businesses contribute their share via taxes, and the government delivers public goods transparently and efficiently.

So why the outrage?

The opposition says the reforms ignore ASUU and doctors’ strikes. But tax reform is not a labor negotiation, it is the foundation for funding those very sectors. They say the policy is harmful. But the facts show it protects the poor, empowers SMEs, and targets the top end of the economy.

They claim to speak for the people. But where were they when the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road was ridiculed, by the same opposition, only to become a national marvel in the making? Where were they when the student loan scheme was dismissed, only to become a lifeline for over 788,947 Nigerian students through NELFUND, with over N154.3 billion disbursed in just 19 months?

This is not principled opposition. This is political rascalism.

And it is not new. The same voices that now cry foul once fought against every reform that has since become a national asset. They have not evolved. They have not learned. They have not earned the right to be taken seriously.

Seeing Kenneth Okonkwo there gave pause. He has, at times, shown flashes of rational thinking. Was this a moment of misjudgment, or a perfidy he walked into, doing the bidding of others?

This is not how opposition should behave. To be credible, they must raise issues that reflect the lived realities of Nigerians, not hide behind the fig leaf of public interest while shielding the privileges of their moneyed patrons. Nigerians are smarter than that. They know when politicians are clowning, which they do often. They know when they are genuinely fighting for the common good, which unfortunately they rarely do.

This protest failed the test of scrutiny. And history will remember it as such.

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