Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has issued a sweeping critique of Nigeria’s taxation system, warning that no nation can achieve prosperity by placing heavier burdens on its poorest citizens.
In a strongly worded statement shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Friday, Obi argued that true national development begins with honesty, transparency, and consensus-building, not with policies that deepen hardship for ordinary people.
Drawing from his engagements with global leaders and reform-minded governments, Obi said countries that have successfully transformed their economies share one defining trait: leaders who are honest with their people and committed to a shared national vision.
“Prosperity cannot come by taxing poverty,” Obi declared, stressing that governments must never exploit citizens to enrich a few individuals or political cronies. According to him, sustainable progress is built on trust, unity, and shared purpose, not coercive fiscal policies.
He warned that Nigeria’s current approach to taxation risks undermining the social contract between government and citizens. Obi noted that taxation, when properly designed, should serve as a tool for collective development but only when it is fair, transparent, and clearly explained.
“If taxation is to function as a genuine social contract, it must be rooted in sincerity, fairness, and concern for the welfare of the people,” he said. “Every tax policy should be clearly explained, including its impact on incomes and its expected contribution to national development.”
Obi lamented that Nigerians are increasingly asked to pay higher taxes without clarity, explanation, or visible benefits, turning taxation into a source of confusion and hardship rather than growth. He argued that the true purpose of fiscal policy is not merely to raise revenue, but to make citizens wealthier so the nation itself becomes stronger.
Central to his argument was the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to Obi, empowering local businesses across communities is the most effective path to expanding Nigeria’s tax base organically.
“When small businesses thrive, jobs are created, incomes rise, and the tax base expands naturally,” he said. “You cannot tax your way out of poverty, you must produce your way out of it.”
The former governor also raised alarm over what he described as an unprecedented tax fraud controversy, alleging that for the first time in Nigeria’s history, a tax law may have been forged. He cited admissions by the National Assembly that the version of the law gazetted differs from what lawmakers actually passed.
Despite this discrepancy, Obi said citizens are being compelled to pay higher taxes under what he described as a manipulated framework, without transparency or accountability.
“There is no virtue in celebrating increased government revenue while the people grow poorer,” Obi warned. “Taxing poverty does not create wealth; it deepens hardship.”
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He argued that any tax system that leaves citizens worse off violates the basic principles of good governance and sound economic management, calling instead for a lawful, fair, and people-centred tax regime.
According to Obi, Nigeria urgently needs a tax system that supports production, rewards enterprise, protects the vulnerable, and restores trust between government and citizens. Only under such conditions, he said, can taxation become a tool for national unity, inclusive growth, and shared prosperity.
His remarks come amid heightened public debate over tax reforms, rising living costs, and concerns about economic transparency, as Nigerians grapple with inflationary pressures and declining purchasing power.
As fiscal reforms continue to dominate national discourse, Obi’s intervention adds a moral and economic dimension to the debate one that questions not just how much revenue government raises, but who bears the cost, and to what end.