*Warns North Will Resist Manufactured 2027 Outcome
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Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, has raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s tax reform law, insisting that two conflicting versions of the legislation exist and describing the new tax regime as “fundamentally flawed.”
His position contradicts assertions by Senate President Godswill Akpabio that the law is consistent.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television, Ndume said the matter came to public attention when a member of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, highlighted differences between the bill passed by lawmakers and the version later released to the public.
According to him, even the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, acknowledged the discrepancies, confirming the presence of multiple versions.
“Two versions of the tax law are circulating. The committee chairman has admitted it. Any adjustments must be made legislatively, not administratively,” Ndume said.
He dismissed Akpabio’s statement that no variations exist as a personal opinion, noting that the House of Representatives has not denied the inconsistencies raised.
Akpabio had insisted there were no inconsistencies in the legislation, describing claims of multiple versions as unfounded and urging lawmakers and the public to rely on official documents issued by the Senate and the Presidency.
The Senate President said the tax reforms were thoroughly reviewed during legislative proceedings, noting that every amendment was accounted for before passage and that the president’s assent confirmed the law’s integrity and enforceability.
Ndume took aim at the federal government’s new tax regime, calling it “fundamentally flawed.”
He noted that Nigerians are not averse to paying taxes, recalling that even bicycle owners paid for licenses in the past because people had trust in the system.
“But here you are, the system has lost the confidence of the public and you are arrogantly imposing things on them without good explanation. When you try to talk to them, somebody told me amongst them that ‘you will not understand.’ I will not understand? That’s very rude,” Ndume said.
Beyond the technical differences, Ndume said the real issue is transparency in governance. He warned that laws cannot be subjected to hidden processes without risking public trust and legal challenges.
“My concern is not merely the discrepancies themselves but the secrecy surrounding them. Governance must be open, and the public must know how laws are made and signed,” he said.
The senator further cautioned that implementation of the tax reforms is impossible until a single, verified version of the law is confirmed, arguing that multiple versions would create confusion and undermine enforcement.
“The president is a servant of Nigeria, and any failure to reconcile these versions will reflect poorly on governance. This matter cannot be ignored,” he said.
Ndume criticised some of the president’s current aides, describing them as disconnected from the country’s political realities.
“The president had good people around him when he was the governor of Lagos; that was why he succeeded. Most of the good people are not there… they have been sidelined,” he said.
“He just picked people that don’t know anybody. They only know Ikoyi and Victoria Island, and from there they fly to London or America, where their families are living. So they are not even full Nigerians. These people don’t know politics.”
Ndume said such advisers lack a proper understanding of Nigerian politics and are “messing up” the president.
“Some of these things are very embarrassing to the president and to Nigeria. Today the president will announce this and tomorrow somebody will announce again that he has reversed that. Today the president will appoint somebody and then he will reverse it. And you know why? Because the man gave all the trust to them, which is not wrong, but they have to do the right thing,” he said.
Ndume warned that any attempt by the APC to declare victory in 2027 without the people’s mandate will meet resistance, especially in the north, where he says people feel betrayed by elite defections and political survival games.
“Mr President, I think, as a politician, as somebody who has gone through it all, is strategising to win the election, but not to declare himself as the winner. Because you only do that when you are acceptable to the people,” he said.
The former Senate Leader said claims that the north is not aggrieved are inaccurate.
“In the north, anybody that tells you that the north is not grumbling now is not speaking the truth,” he said.
Asked how significant the discontent is, Ndume said: “It will be loud in their votes if nothing is done about it.”
Ndume disclosed that northern elders had reached out to the president in the past to raise concerns.
“I was part of the meeting that we had — the first and the last meeting — with Mr President, where northern elders went to him. We had a wonderful session, and he promised that that will continue, and it never happened,” he said.
Asked what resistance to a “manufactured outcome” in 2027 would look like, Ndume said: “It may be a combination of all — ballot box, streets, or political realignment. We have seen it before and we have seen it in other countries.”
He added that the president still has an opportunity to reverse the situation.
“The good thing about it is that the president can change things, can turn things around. Nigerians are good at forgiving and even forgetting once things are turned around,” he said.
On insecurity, Ndume urged an all-out offensive against terrorists during the dry season, warning that soldiers remain under-equipped, under-protected and inadequately trained for the fight.
“The Nigerian Army from top to bottom are very committed. But no matter how your commitment is, if you don’t have the morale booster, if you don’t have the equipment, most of the soldiers will lose,” he said.
He noted that the collaboration with Americans has enabled improvement in the war against insurgents, but called for deployment of MRAPs and attack helicopters.
“If they deploy MRAPs, and when they go out like this, they are covered with MRAPs, and they are covered from the top by attack helicopters, they will clear the place in a very short time,” Ndume said.
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