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By Sunday Ani
The national leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and sports advocate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has strongly criticised the Federal Government’s proposed 2026 tax reform law, describing it as a bad, unjust, and impractical piece of legislation that will deepen economic hardship for Nigerians and undermine constitutional governance.
Speaking to journalists after the Adewole Adebayo 2025 Christmas Marathon, Adebayo argued that the tax reform is designed to centralise fiscal power and entrench what he termed “economic singularity” under the present administration, rather than to stimulate economic growth or improve public welfare.
He stated that taxation has a clear philosophical purpose, which he said the proposed law fails to fulfil. According to Adebayo, any legitimate tax system must achieve four objectives: “It must stimulate the economy, distribute resources fairly, generate sustainable revenue in the long run and be transparent and easy to understand.”
He contended that the proposed law violates all four principles. Rather than encouraging productivity, he said, it has instilled fear among small traders, artisans and ordinary Nigerians, many of whom now worry about arbitrary bank deductions, asset seizures and complex compliance requirements.
“You cannot have a tax law that makes a market woman think she needs to hire a lawyer,” he said. “That is not taxation; that is intimidation.”
Adebayo also questioned the legislative integrity of the reform, alleging that provisions currently in circulation were not part of the bill debated or approved by the National Assembly.
“If members of the National Assembly are saying the version being circulated is not what they passed, then we are dealing with a potential criminal violation,” he stated. “You cannot smuggle clauses into law in a democracy.”
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He warned that implementing such a law would amount to legislative treason and would further erode public trust in governance.
The SDP leader expressed particular concern over the growing involvement of private consultants in revenue collection, which he described as a violation of Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“Revenue collection is a sovereign duty,” he said. “You don’t outsource it to private companies the same way you don’t outsource the Navy or the armed forces.”
He recalled that Nigeria’s Joint Tax Board had previously discouraged the use of consultants and warned that allowing private entities to control tax infrastructure could lead to abuse, lack of accountability and the long-term economic subjugation of citizens.
Adebayo alleged that the urgency surrounding the tax reform is politically motivated. “They need money ahead of elections,” he claimed. “They have already spent it mentally. This law is about extracting resources from Nigerians to fund politics, not to develop the country.”
He cautioned that such policies could enable political elites to continue profiting from the tax system even after leaving office, effectively turning citizens into perpetual revenue sources for private political empires.
