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Subsidy Removal Will Set Nigeria on Fire, NLC Warns FG
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has warned that those pushing for subsidy removal in Nigeria are out to set the country on fire.
The warning came against the backdrop of an announcement that the outgoing government of President Muhammadu Buhari had left the decision of petrol subsidy removal to the incoming government.
According to NLC, the focus should be on the local refining of petroleum products and not subsidy removal.
General Secretary of NLC, Emma Ugboaja, in a chat in Lagos yesterday, said nobody should drag Nigerian masses and workers into any increase in fuel price in the name of subsidy removal, insisting that organized labour will not accept it.
He said: “It will be uncharitable in 2023 for any government to talk about subsidy or no subsidy for a product that is naturally and thoroughly well-endowed in Nigeria. It smacks of wickedness for us to be discussing subsidy as an issue, rather than discussing production.
‘’The energy and resources people are putting into discussing subsidy show a lack of focus. It shows a lack of seriousness and a lack of appreciation of what governance should be. If in 2023, rather than getting people that will make proper use of our natural endowment, we are busy discussing the cosmetic challenge of subsidy or no subsidy, it is absurd.
‘Absurd comedy of subsidy’
“One would have thought that people should be setting before the incoming government a genuine challenge on how to move Nigeria forward, not for us to continue in the rigmarole of vicious, musical chairs and absurd comedy of subsidy or no subsidy. We cannot be people that do not respond to records.
“It is an open thing that the government that is about to leave in 2016 told Nigerians they had removed the subsidy. Despite the NLC’s position that there was no subsidy to remove and that what people were harping on was a price hike. They had told us that they removed the subsidy in 2016, so what subsidy are they removing or are we discussing now?
‘What we should be discussing is how to refine crude oil in Nigeria and make the product available for domestic consumption. Anything outside that shows the wickedness of the kind of intellectuals we have. We feel sick each time we see normal people come out on national television giving theories on subsidies and how they can be ploughed into healthcare or education.
Nothing is more dangerous than the way our elites try to hoodwink Nigerians. The truth is Nigerians need to wake up, we cannot continue in this vicious cycle of humiliation and slavery.
‘No subsidy to be removed’
“There is no subsidy for anybody to be removed. The point that has to be made is that we must refine it. Anything outside making our refineries work is wickedness. We need to make our refineries work. It is not rocket science. We hear them on an almost daily basis say Taskforce has demolished or destroyed certain numbers of refineries in Niger Delta creeks. Why can’t you use our universities to process quality control, why will you not use our universities to process cheaper and smaller processes of refining?
“We should stop treating these elites with kid gloves. Our elites are wicked to the country. So, don’t tolerate this new wave of wastage of our resources in the name of a media wave to create a capture of the psyche of Nigerians on subsidy removal that is imminent. What should be imminent is the local refining of crude in Nigeria. Nothing else should be imminent.
“Anybody moving Nigerians in the direction of subsidy removal wants to blow up the country. They can go ahead and blow up the country. But the truth is anything less than refining crude in Nigeria; you cannot push us into that argument. We have been down this route before, and it has never paid off. We keep calling it a fraud and that fraud was confirmed in 2016 when they looked us in the face and told us that they have removed the subsidy. They looked us in the face and said they were finally removing subsidiaries to free Nigerians. We protested, and they said we didn’t have any capacity to stop them and went ahead with it. They should not drag us into any increase in fuel price in the name of subsidy removal. Any increase in petrol price from the government in the name of subsidy removal, we will challenge it. We will work against it, it is straightforward.”
Speaking similarly, the Pro-Labour Civil Society Organisations, the Joint Action Front, JAF, through its Secretary, Abiodun Aremu, said: “JAF is opposed to the neo-liberal policies of privatisation and deregulation at all times.
‘’It is such policy regime that is responsible for the hike in fuel prices, sharp corrupt practices in the petroleum sector and the artificial fuel crisis induced by the Buhari regime in the past eight years
‘’The new NLC leadership needs to restore confidence in Nigerians that labour is, indeed, prepared for a total fight against all inimical socio-economic policies at the heart of the underdevelopment of the country.”
Reacting to labour’s warning yesterday, the chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Olumide Adeosun, said major marketers were not comfortable with the sustenance of petrol subsidy because it had over the years stifled investment and growth in the sector.
He said: “We need full deregulation in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry ACT, PIA. The legislation is ultimately the best for the nation.”
Similarly, the National Operations Controller, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, said the Federal Government had continued to subsidise the price of petrol because of continued regulation of the sector.
He said: “We have always been opposed to petrol subsidies. We believe that subsidy will cease to be once the downstream sector is deregulated.
“This is required to conserve funds currently expended on subsidy as well as attract serious investors to invest, thus growing the sector.”
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer, the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, said: “It is clear that the current petrol subsidy is fiscally unsustainable.
“But there is a need to creatively manage the transition from the current pricing regime to a fully or partially deregulated arrangement. It is a tricky issue which could pose a serious challenge to the government if not tactically managed.
‘’The reality is that the sentiments among the citizenry are not favourable to the deregulation of petroleum product pricing or petrol subsidy removal. Even some elites are curiously not persuaded by the justification for the subsidy removal.
“If the policy transition is not properly managed, there is a risk of a social and political backlash which may be difficult to contain. No doubt, there is a sound economic and business case in favour of fuel subsidy removal.
‘’But the social and political contexts are equally critical. The subsidy is not sustainable, which is why there is a need to accelerate engagement with the relevant stakeholders to come up with a policy transition strategy that is sustainable, realistic and pragmatic. The conversation should not only be economic, but also social and political.”
“We need to expeditiously address the ongoing rehabilitation of our refineries. Domestic refining of petroleum products will ease the currently prohibitive cost of petroleum products which is largely a consequence of our vulnerability to volatilities in global oil prices and currency depreciation. The Dangote Refinery should also be supported to ensure early completion.”
Source: Vanguard
An Abuja High Court has cleared the way for the implementation of Nigeria’s new tax regime scheduled to commence on January 1, 2026, dismissing a suit seeking to halt the programme.
The ruling gives the Federal government, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the National Assembly full legal backing to proceed with the take-off of the new tax laws.
The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of African Initiative for Abuse of Public Trustees, which dragged the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly before the court over alleged discrepancies in the recently enacted tax laws.
In an ex-parte motion, the plaintiff sought an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government, FIRS, the National Assembly and related agencies from implementing or enforcing the provisions of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The group also asked the court to restrain the President from implementing the laws in any part of the federation pending the hearing of its motion on notice.
However, in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Kawu struck out the application, holding that it lacked merit and failed to establish sufficient legal grounds to warrant the grant of the reliefs sought.
The court ruled that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate how the implementation of the new tax laws would occasion irreparable harm or violate any provision of the Constitution, stressing that matters of fiscal policy and economic reforms fall squarely within the powers of government.
Justice Kawu further held that once a law has been duly enacted and gazetted, any alleged errors or controversies can only be addressed through legislative amendment or a substantive court order, noting that disagreements over tax laws cannot stop the implementation of an existing law.
Consequently, the court affirmed that there was no legal impediment to the commencement of the new tax regime and directed that implementation should proceed as scheduled from January 1, 2026.
The new tax regime is anchored on four landmark tax reform bills signed into law in 2025 as part of the Federal Government’s broader fiscal and economic reform agenda aimed at boosting revenue, simplifying the tax system and reducing leakages.
The laws — the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025 — consolidate and replace several existing tax statutes, including laws governing companies income tax, personal income tax, value added tax, capital gains tax and stamp duties.
Key elements of the reforms include the harmonisation of multiple taxes into a more streamlined framework, expansion of the tax base, protection for low-income earners and small businesses, and the introduction of modern, technology-driven tax administration systems such as digital filing and electronic compliance monitoring.
The reforms also provide for the restructuring of federal tax administration, including the creation of the Nigeria Revenue Service, to strengthen efficiency, coordination and revenue collection across government levels.
While the Federal government has described the reforms as critical to stabilising public finances and funding infrastructure and social services, the laws have generated intense public debate, with some civil society groups and political actors alleging discrepancies between the versions passed by the National Assembly and those later gazetted.
These concerns sparked calls for suspension, re-gazetting and legal action, culminating in the suit dismissed by the Abuja High Court.
Reacting to the judgment, stakeholders described the ruling as a major boost for the reforms, saying it has removed all legal obstacles that could have delayed the implementation of the new tax framework.
Former governor of Anambra State, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has officially defected to the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Obi announced the decision on Tuesday at an event held at the Nike Lake Resort, Enugu.
“We are ending this year with the hope that in 2026 we will begin a rescue journey,” Obi said.
The National Chairman of the ADC, David Mark, was among the attendees.
United States Representative Riley Moors has said further military strikes against Islamic State-linked militants in Nigeria could follow recent operations ordered by President Donald Trump, describing the actions as aimed at improving security and protecting Christian communities facing violence.
Moore made the remarks during a televised interview in which he addressed U.S. military strikes carried out on Christmas Day against militant targets in North-west Nigeria.
The strikes were conducted in coordination with the Nigerian government, according to U.S. and Nigerian officials.
“President Trump is not trying to bring war to Nigeria, he’s bringing peace and security to Nigeria and to the thousands of Christians who face horrific violence and death,” Moore said.
He said the Christmas Day strikes against Islamic State affiliates had provided hope to Christians in Nigeria, particularly in areas affected by repeated attacks during past festive periods.
According to U.S. authorities, the strikes targeted camps used by Islamic State-linked groups operating in parts of north-west Nigeria.
Nigerian officials confirmed that the operation was carried out with intelligence support from Nigerian security agencies as part of ongoing counter-terrorism cooperation between both countries.
The United States Africa Command said the operation was intended to degrade the operational capacity of extremist groups responsible for attacks on civilians and security forces.
Nigerian authorities have described the targeted groups as a threat to national security, noting their involvement in killings, kidnappings and raids on rural communities.
Moore said the strikes marked a shift from previous years in which attacks were carried out against civilians during the Christmas period. He said the U.S. administration was focused on preventing further violence by targeting militant groups before they could launch attacks.
U.S. officials have said the military action was carried out with the consent of the Nigerian government and formed part of broader security cooperation between the two countries. Nigeria has received intelligence, training and logistical support from international partners as it seeks to contain militant activity.
Moore had previously called for stronger international attention to attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria and has urged continued U.S. engagement in addressing extremist violence. He said further action would depend on developments on the ground and continued coordination with Nigerian authorities.
Nigerian officials have maintained that counter-terrorism operations are directed at armed groups threatening civilians, regardless of religion, and have reiterated their commitment to restoring security across affected regions.
