Vice President Kashim Shettima has dismissed claims that the Federal Government’s tax reforms will impoverish Nigerians, insisting the policies are designed to eliminate the burden of multiple levies on small businesses and low-income earners.
Shettima, speaking on behalf of President Bola Tinubu at an interfaith breaking of the fast for Ramadan and Lent on Wednesday at the State House, Abuja, urged government officials to educate citizens about the benefits of the reforms.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement he signed on Wednesday titled, ‘Tax Reforms Will Improve Lives, Not Impoverish Nigerians, Says Vice President Kashim Shettima.’
“The same people who are shouting hoarse that the tax reform is meant to pulverize further and pauperise the poor are far from the truth, but we have to go out and tell the truth to the people.
“We have to educate them. We have to mount the pulpits and take our government to the Nigerian people and tell them the truth,” the Vice President stated.
He emphasised that the government is concerned about Nigerians’ plight and is introducing policy instruments to lift many out of poverty without adding to their burdens.
Shettima highlighted gains of the economic reforms, including increased foreign exchange reserves, streamlined exchange rates and the removal of fuel subsidy, which he said had favoured only a few for many years.
He commended President Tinubu for addressing issues that past administrations had avoided, noting that the removal of fuel subsidy, though not mentioned in the President’s 2023 inaugural speech, was necessary to stop the system from draining resources meant for development.
“Three years down the road, the economy has bounced back,” the Vice President stated.
He advised government officials to be more active in sharing facts about the administration’s achievements and countering what he described as falsehoods propagated by opposition parties.
“On behalf of the President, I want to thank you all for comradeship, support and partnership,” Shettima told cabinet members, the Central Bank Governor, special advisers, senior special assistants, and heads of agencies and parastatals who attended the event.
The Tax Reform Acts, which became effective on January 1, 2026, consolidated over 60 taxes into fewer than 10 statutes and introduced provisions including zero income tax for Nigerians earning N800,000 annually or less.
The reforms also exempt small businesses with turnover below N50m from company income tax, capital gains tax and development levy, while maintaining VAT at 7.5 per cent.
Opposition parties and some civil society groups have criticised the reforms, claiming they would increase the tax burden on ordinary Nigerians and worsen economic hardship.
However, the government has maintained that the reforms are pro-poor and designed to shift the tax burden from low-income earners to wealthier individuals and corporations.
