Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has cautioned the Federal Government against imposing additional tax burdens on Nigerians, warning that taxing poverty would inevitably lead to public resistance.
Sowore made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, where he argued that Nigerians are already overstretched economically and cannot absorb further tax pressure.
“Anybody who taxes poverty will reap resistance, because Nigerians are just too poor right now,” Sowore said.
He maintained that meaningful tax reform should focus on expanding the tax base rather than increasing taxes on citizens who are already struggling to survive.
“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,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains low compared to other African countries, stressing that the priority should be improving compliance and coverage rather than burdening existing taxpayers.
“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,” Sowore added.
The activist also questioned the credibility of official data being used to justify the tax reforms, accusing the government of inconsistencies and lack of transparency in its statistics.
“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.
Sowore further alleged irregularities surrounding the implementation of the new tax regime, claiming that the version currently in operation differs from what was passed by the National Assembly
“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,” he stated.
The Federal Government recently introduced 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, aimed at overhauling Nigeria’s tax system and improving revenue generation.
