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The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has criticised the recently enacted tax law, arguing that it places an additional financial burden on low-income earners.
Ajaero made the remarks on Wednesday in Abuja during the presentation of the memoir of former NLC President Hassan Sunmonu. He said Nigerian workers were deliberately excluded from the presidential tax reform process, despite being among the country’s major taxpayers.
According to him, the exclusion resulted in a law that deepens hardship for workers and the poor. He maintained that, given the composition of the Presidential Committee on Tax, which excluded labour, it was clear that the interests of workers and the masses would be negatively affected.
He said labour had warned the nation during both the executive and legislative stages of the process, but those warnings were ignored, leading to laws that he described as deliberately structured to make already vulnerable groups poorer.
Ajaero described the tax law as regressive, insisting that any policy that imposes heavy tax obligations on workers, including those earning the national minimum wage, cannot be considered fair or progressive. He argued that taxing citizens who are already living in extreme poverty further entrenches inequality and economic hardship.
“Tax Law that imposes a heavy burden on workers and the poor is not progressive. Tax that taxes the national minimum wage is not fair.
“Tax that taxes the masses who are living in excruciating poverty is regressive. That was why we were excluded from the Committee and that was why our warnings went unheeded. We do not see anything wrong in pausing along this negative path, rethinking, and redirecting.”
The labour leader called on the Federal Government to review the law, warning that pressing ahead with its implementation without addressing widespread concerns could erode public trust and weaken democratic governance.
He cautioned that continued uncertainty and conflicting interpretations of the law could undermine tax administration and pose a risk to democracy.
Ajaero urged the government to focus on passing credible laws that strengthen institutions rather than weaken them.
He warned that sidelining key stakeholders, altering legislative outcomes and governing without broad consultation could damage public confidence and threaten national stability.
The leader also called on the Federal Government to immediately and fully constitute the board of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) and to engage labour unions more constructively on policies that directly affect workers.
He further reaffirmed labour’s commitment to sustained advocacy, saying the NLC would continue to organise, challenge authority, and push for a Nigeria in which workers are not overwhelmed by poverty, insecurity, excessive taxation, or a future weighed down by debt.
