The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday expressed sadness over the collapse of national economy that has inflicted pains and hardship on Nigerians.
This is even as the party condemned and totally rejected the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5% to excruciating 7.2%.
PDP said instead of foisting more tax burden on Nigerians, Buhari should rather account for and recover the over N14 trillion oil money established to have been stolen under his watch in the last four years.
Consequently, the party has urged the National Assembly to immediately revoke the decision so as to protect Nigerians and save them from abject poverty.
In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP described VAT increase as not just anti-people but suppressive, and and it has further indicated that the Buhari Presidency is extremely exploitative, inconsiderate and absolutely insensitive to the sufferings which it has plunged Nigerians into in the last four years.
The PDP angst that Buhari’s decision would not have come to add more burden to Nigerians especially as the people are faced with prevailing agonizing economic situation.
“The PDP insists that the decision to increase VAT on already impoverished citizens is in bad faith and cannot be justified under any guise.
“President Buhari ought to be aware that an increase in VAT will worsen our decrepit economy and put more pressure on families and business as it will result in increase in costs of goods and services that have direct bearing on the welfare of the people,” he stated.
Ologbondiyan pointed out that imposing harsh tax regime implies crass incompetence and lack of capacity to effectively harness and manage resources to create wealth for the benefit of the people.
“It is even more painful that the Buhari Presidency cannot give account of the huge resources at its disposal, including the taxes it has been collecting in the last four years, most of which are frittered to service the wasteful lifestyle of the cabal at the Presidency and APC chieftains.
“It is disheartening that at the time Nigerians ought to be enjoying the economic recovery and empowerment blueprint set out by Atiku Abubakar, which included slash in taxes and levies, they are rather faced with an unjustifiable and indefensible tax increase,”Ologbodiyan said.
SOLOMON AYADO, Abuja
