By Our Correspondent Abuja
As Nigeria counts down to the most ambitious overhaul of its tax system in decades, a fresh political battle has erupted, this time over who has the power to stop it.
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has issued a blunt rebuttal to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, declaring that he has neither the authority nor the constitutional standing to pronounce the newly enacted tax laws a nullity or demand a suspension of their January 1, 2026 commencement.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, the group framed Atiku’s intervention as political theatre rather than lawful oversight, insisting that only the National Assembly has the power to interrogate, amend or revisit legislation already passed into law.
According to TMSG, Atiku’s latest call for suspension, anchored on allegations that some provisions of the tax Acts were altered after passage fits a long-standing pattern of opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda.
The group recalled that the former Vice President had openly resisted the tax reforms from their inception in 2024, when the Tinubu administration forwarded four bills to the National Assembly to modernise what it described as Nigeria’s “outdated and heavily criticised” tax framework.
They accused Atiku of previously aligning with critics who framed the reforms as unfavourable to Northern Nigeria and of lobbying lawmakers to heed the National Economic Council’s earlier call for the withdrawal of the bills over Value Added Tax (VAT) sharing disputes.
“While the President remained focused on legislative engagement and amendments,” the statement noted, “Atiku positioned himself behind voices urging withdrawal, not reform.”
For TMSG, the core issue is not disagreement but jurisdiction.
The group argued that Atiku’s push for suspension before lawmakers conclude any investigation into alleged alterations amounts to an attempt to hijack constitutional processes and elevate himself as the public face of opposition politics.
“He lacks the authority or position to declare the tax laws a nullity,” the statement said, stressing that legislative review, if required, rests squarely with federal lawmakers.
TMSG further suggested that the timing of Atiku’s intervention was strategic, coming just as Nigerians prepare to benefit from what it described as over 50 tax reliefs embedded in the reforms from January 2026.
Narratives, Counter-Narratives
The group also pointed to what it called a stream of misinformation surrounding the reforms ranging from fears about tax identification requirements to VAT enforcement and alleged bank account monitoring issues that have already drawn multiple clarifications from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
In its view, the renewed controversy is less about legal substance and more about disrupting a policy move that could significantly boost President Tinubu’s standing among taxpayers and small businesses.
TMSG made it clear that it stands firmly behind the Presidency’s position that the tax reforms will proceed as scheduled.
“There is no going back,” the group declared, warning that opposition elements “who never saw anything good in the Tinubu administration” should not be allowed to derail what it called the most consequential tax reform effort in a generation.
The reforms, it said, are designed to simplify tax administration, eliminate multiple and overlapping levies, and improve revenue collection without piling new burdens on citizens already strained by years of what it termed “nuisance taxes.”
Still, TMSG acknowledged the role of the National Assembly as final arbiter, urging lawmakers to complete the legislative process by re-gazetting the tax Acts in their correct form if any discrepancies are found and ensuring that clean, authoritative copies are made available to the public.
As the January 2026 deadline approaches, the message from the pro-Tinubu camp is unmistakable: the tax reforms are moving forward and political objections, however loud, will not rewrite the law.
