A prominent Islamic scholar based in Kaduna, Sheikh Abubakar Zaria, has allegedly vowed that northerners will resist the implementation of the controversial tax reforms scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
According to a report by Peoples Gazette, the cleric reportedly made the remarks in a video currently circulating online, where he warned that northern lawmakers who supported the tax reforms would face political consequences upon returning to their constituencies.
“We are waiting to see who will come and make us pay these taxes,” the cleric stated. “By Allah, I am saying with a loud voice. Any senator or member of the House of Representatives who is supporting this new tax law will be dealt with once you are back home.”
Mr Alkali, who cited the removal of fuel subsidy as an example of policies that have failed to benefit ordinary Nigerians, argued that the tax reforms contradicted democratic principles.
“We are waiting to see who will pass this tax reform law. We sent you people to go and represent us. And democracy is for the people, by the people and to the people.
“And to you senators and representatives. And when they say they removed subsidy, whose father did it help? So we don’t have any problem with anybody except those who signed that tax reform into law,” the cleric maintained.
The comments come amid growing controversy surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s tax reforms. Tensions escalated after Abdussamad Dasuki, a House of Representatives member from Sokoto, alerted lawmakers to alleged discrepancies between the version of the tax reforms approved by the National Assembly and the version later assented to by the president.
Following the allegations, several Nigerians — including former vice president Atiku Abubakar and Borno senator Ali Ndume — called on Mr Tinubu to suspend the reforms pending the outcome of investigations into the alleged alterations. Others went further, demanding the president’s impeachment.
In response to Mr Dasuki’s claims, the National Assembly on Friday ordered a re-gazette of the assented tax reforms, citing unapproved alterations and directing that the document be aligned with the version harmonised and passed by lawmakers.
Despite the backlash, the chairman of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, said the federal government would proceed with implementation as scheduled.
“The plan to commence the new law, the two remaining new laws on the first of January 2026, will go ahead as planned, on schedule, because these reforms are designed to provide relief to the Nigerian people,” Mr Oyedele said on Friday.
(PEOPLES GAZZETE)
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