According to the Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar lacks the power and capacity to declare the new tax legislation invalid.
In an attempt to argue for the suspension of the January 1, 2026 commencement date due to purported changes to several Acts clauses, Atiku lacked such authority.
TMSG claimed in a statement signed by its Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, and Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, that only the National Assembly had the legal authority to examine the accusations in greater detail and decide what to do next.
The group stated: “Since President Bola Tinubu’s administration presented four measures to the National Assembly in 2024 to modernize the nation’s antiquated and sometimes mocked tax laws, it is a truth that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had never concealed his opposition to the tax changes.
It is easy to remember how he secretly sided with those who said that some parts of the measures were biased against Northern Nigeria. Additionally, Atiku persuaded federal lawmakers to follow the National Economic Council’s (NEC) recommendation to withdraw the bill for “broader consultation” regarding a VAT sharing dispute, while the President continued to concentrate on getting the National Assembly to amend the tax laws.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has once again succeeded in finding himself at the center of a tax reform debate, supposedly in an attempt to portray himself as the spokesperson for the opposition.
However, the truth is that he lacks the power or position to declare the new tax laws, which are set to go into effect in a few days, to be void due to a claim that some of its terms have been altered after the legislation have been signed into law.
“The former Vice President Abubakar and his supporters merely wanted to sabotage what they knew would elevate President Tinubu’s profile in the eyes of the majority of Nigerians who would be receiving over 50 tax reliefs as early as January 2026 by pushing for the tax reforms to be suspended even before the conclusion of the federal lawmakers’ investigation on the issue.”
We also know that prior to the most recent controversy, there were a number of misleading tales on everything from tax identification to Value Added Tax (VAT) and bank account surveillance, which prompted the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to provide clarifications in recent weeks.
The President’s stance that the execution of the tax reforms cannot be reversed, however, has our complete support.
“Our stance is that opposition groups who have never found anything positive in the Tinubu administration should never be allowed to get their way. We applaud the Tinubu administration for moving forward with what is undoubtedly the biggest revision of Nigeria’s tax structure in many years.
“Without necessarily burdening Nigerians who have endured years of unchecked nuisance taxes, we boldly state that the tax reforms are intended to streamline tax administration, lower numerous levies, and enhance revenue generation.”
The group encouraged the National Assembly to finish its work on the tax laws by re-gazetting the Tax Acts in their proper form and making sure that Nigerians have access to clean copies if it determines that the allegations of modifications are accurate.
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