PDP Faction Insists on Suspension of Tax Act, Demands Probe Into ‘Smuggled’ Provisions

The Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has forcefully renewed its call for the immediate suspension of the commencement date of the new Tax Act, demanding a comprehensive investigation into what it terms “smuggled” and dangerous provisions discovered in the gazetted version of the law.

In a press statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, mnipr, the party accused the Tinubu administration of prioritizing revenue over the welfare of Nigerians by insisting the law take effect despite glaring discrepancies.

The party highlighted that the harmonised version of the Act passed by the National Assembly had expunged certain clauses, which later re-appeared in the official gazette.

“Nigerians have demanded a thorough investigation of this anomaly and sought to know who carried out the illegal insertion and how it was done,” the statement read. The party criticized the Presidency for minimizing these grave concerns instead of addressing them.

Drawing a sharp contrast, the opposition party reminded President Bola Tinubu of the 2012 protests against fuel subsidy removal, which it claimed its administration heeded.

“A responsible PDP administration in 2012 listened to the cries of Nigerians and civil society organisations in deference to the voices of Nigerians. The interest of Nigerians must be uppermost,” the statement asserted, adding that the President, as an “employee of the people,” should listen to his employers.

The statement further accused the administration of a consistent pattern of putting finance first, citing the 2023 subsidy removal which it said “caused ordinary Nigerians to suffer irreparable economic damage.”

“Obedience to laws in a democracy is directly linked to the belief that elected legislators have deliberated upon and approved them,” the PDP argued. “A mere suspicion, let alone a confirmed fact, that unapproved sections have been smuggled into a law… is sufficient reason to suspend its commencement.”

The party concluded with a final warning: for the President to proceed with the implementation without a probe would be “a clear confirmation that money, not the people, is the priority.”