Atiku slams FG over 10% VAT hike, fuel price surge, warns of worsening economic downturn
…Says policies will endanger livelihoods, Nigeria’s already fragile economic stability
…Reverse petrol price increase within 48 hours, or face legal action — SERAP tells Tinubu
…Save Nigerians from crushing hardship — APC chieftain begs Tinubu
…Nigeria has too many ministries, needs slimming down — Tafawa-Balewa
By Sodiq Adelakun
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly condemned the federal government’s proposed increase of Value Added Tax (VAT) from 7.5 percent to 10 percent, warning that the move will exacerbate Nigeria’s economic downturn and push millions of Nigerians into poverty.
Atiku, in a statement on Sunday via his X formerly Twitter, handle, Atiku said the move could become a “blazing inferno that will consume the very essence of our people.”
He also criticised the government’s decision to permit duty-free importation of agricultural commodities, saying it poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s food security ambitions and will lead to job losses and suffering for local farmers.
“This move is a recipe for disaster,” Atiku said. “It will unleash a level of economic ruin that will be difficult to recover from. The poor and vulnerable will be the hardest hit, and I fear for the future of our nation.”
Atiku’s warning comes as Nigerians continue to grapple with the harsh realities of the country’s economic crisis, including rising inflation, unemployment, and poverty.
The former VP’s statement has added to the growing chorus of criticism against the government’s economic policies, with many calling for a rethink of the VAT hike and duty-free importation.
“This is not the time for experimentation or ideological fantasies, we need pragmatic and proven solutions to address our economic challenges, not policies that will only worsen the situation,” Atiku said.
Atiku also criticised the government’s decision to permit duty-free importation of agricultural commodities, saying it poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s food security ambitions and will lead to job losses and suffering for local farmers.
“This poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s food security ambitions, as local farmers, facing unfair competition, are compelled to reduce or entirely abandon their production efforts,” he added.
Atiku urged the Tinubu administration to rethink its economic strategies, cautioning that the VAT hike and other regressive measures would only fuel further unrest in the country.
Meanwhile, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to reverse the recent increase in petrol price and probe the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for corruption and mismanagement.
In a statement released on Sunday, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, expressed concern over the unlawful and unconstitutional increase in petrol price, which has caused immense hardship for Nigerians.
The organisation emphasised that the price hike is a fundamental breach of constitutional guarantees and international human rights obligations.
SERAP urged President Tinubu to use his leadership position and good offices to direct NNPCL to immediately reverse the price increase and ensure that those responsible for the unlawful hike are brought to justice.
The organisation also called for a probe into the spending of the reported $300 million ‘bailout funds’ collected from the Federal Government in August 2024 and the $6 billion debt owed to suppliers.
The statement read in part, “The increase in petrol price constitutes a fundamental breach of constitutional guarantees and the country’s international human rights obligations. Nigerians have for far too long been denied justice and the opportunity to get to the bottom of why they continue to pay the price for corruption in the oil sector.”
SERAP emphasised that the persistent increase in petrol prices has rendered already impoverished citizens incapable of satisfying their minimum needs for survival, perpetuating discriminatory attitudes and practices against them.
The organisation stressed that the government has a legal obligation to mobilise the maximum of the country’s available resources to ensure people’s socio-economic rights and protect the most vulnerable and disadvantaged Nigerians.
…Save Nigerians from crushing hardship — APC chieftain begs Tinubu
In the same vein, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to take immediate action to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians.
Oyintiloye expressed confidence in the President’s ability to ease the hardship but emphasised the need for a faster approach.
“There is no doubt that the President is doing everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the masses, but a faster approach must be considered. The President should ensure that every bureaucratic bottleneck delaying the swift implementation of policies that would benefit the masses is removed,” Oyintiloye said.
Oyintiloye also expressed concern about the non-implementation of the President’s directive to suspend customs duties and taxes on imported food items, which was announced two months ago.
He urged those drafting the guidelines to complete the process without further delay.
…Nigeria has too many ministries, needs slimming down — Tafawa Balewa
Also, a former PDP presidential aspirant, Dr Abdul-Jhalil Tafawa Balewa has called for a reduction in the number of ministries in Nigeria, stating that the current 48 ministries are too many and need to be slimmed down.
Tafawa-Balewa made this statement in an interview with journalists on Sunday in Lagos, emphasising that the large number of ministries is a drain on the country’s resources. He argued that slimming down the number of ministers would free up more resources for development and help the country’s economic growth.
“We have too many ministries, and it’s a waste of resources. We need to slim down the number of ministers and merge some of these ministries together. This will help us to reduce the cost of governance and free up more resources for development,” Tafawa-Balewa said.
He also suggested that some ministries are redundant and perform similar functions, making it unnecessary to have them as separate entities.
”We have ministries that perform similar functions, and it’s unnecessary to have them as separate ministries. We can merge them and have a more efficient system,” he added.
Tafawa-Balewa’s call for a reduction in the number of ministries is not new, as several experts and stakeholders have made similar suggestions in the past.
