The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON) have rejected the Federal Government’s plans to commence the implementation of the newly enacted tax reform laws from January 1, 2026.
The Acting National Secretary of the NLC, Benson Upah, told The PUNCH that the union was not aware of the existence of the laws.
He said the NLC was not carried along during the drafting of the laws despite workers being the largest tax-paying group in the country.
The NLC said not involved after the tax reform laws were passed and assented to by the National Assembly and President Bola Tinubu.
The labour faulted the timing, lack of clarity and the likely effect the implementation would have on workers and businesses, adding that the NLC the reforms would not only worsen the burden on citizens but also hurt small businesses and slow economic activity.
Upah said “at the level of the Congress, we do not even know what these laws contain, yet we are the largest tax-paying community in the country.
“There has been no sensitisation or public enlightenment directed at the NLC or the labour community. This is an affront and a clear disrespect to the citizens.
“The right to know what is going on is not a privilege; it is a right. Nobody is doing us any favour.
“We are asking for certain things to be done: public enlightenment, public education on what these tax reform laws are all about, who they are meant to benefit and all of that, before they are implemented.
“There are other issues, too. We have also heard that there are going to be tax agents for the enforcement of the laws; these issues are totally opaque, and they are unacceptable.
“The processes of tax accumulation or collection, warehousing of tax proceeds and utilisation of those proceeds should be transparent; if not, we will revolt, not just us, but the people, the citizenry will revolt,” Upah added.
Also, the President of ASBON, Femi Egbesola, said implementation of the law without sufficient understanding among micro, small and medium enterprises would fail.
Egbesola said inadequate awareness could trigger resistance.
“The implementation should be suspended. The majority of the MSME space does not even understand it. You do not implement what people do not understand.
“If you force yourself to implement it, there will be a mismatch, and you will not get the kind of result you want. Along the line, it may be a colossal failure.
“The majority of the SMEs do not really understand the tax reform and law. You can only align with what you understand,” he stated.
Egbesola citing data from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, said micro and small businesses account for about 87 per cent of Nigeria’s estimated 40 million MSMEs.
“These 87 per cent are micro businesses, and for you to interpret things to them, it must be different. Those in charge of sensitisation need to do more,” he said.
