The Convener of The Alternative and a Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Otunba Segun Showunmi, has condemned the position of the National Opposition Movement (NOM) on the proposed tax reform, describing them as a familiar mixture of alarmism, selective outrage, and political nostalgia.

Recall that at a press conference in Abuja, the NOM demanded that President Bola Tinubu’s new tax law be suspended immediately, calling it a severe attack on the means of subsistence of ordinary Nigerians.

They insisted that the tax law is an assault on Nigerians, citing the nation’s poor socioeconomic conditions, which include growing poverty, insecurity, and declining living standards.

But in a statement, Showunmi, who faulted the group’s position, described the movement as gangs of failed politicians who mistake noise for policy and outrage for ideas, and who fail to offer pragmatic solutions.

Showunmi argued that no reform is painless, and the cost of not changing is always greater than the cost of reforming.

He said, “What the National Opposition Movement has offered Nigerians is not a credible alternative economic vision but a familiar mixture of alarmism, selective outrage, and political nostalgia. Over-recycled, excessively ambitious politicians must snap out of their fearmongering.

“We are the national opposition movement because we always offer pragmatic solutions, not this set of unimaginative, recycled, past-their-shelf-life gangs of failed politicians who mistake noise for policy and outrage for ideas.”

According to Showunmi, the nation is implementing reforms aligned with global best practices rather than acting alone or experimenting carelessly.

He said countries that succeed in decreasing poverty and inequality do so by establishing robust domestic revenue systems that are transparent, dependable, and broad-based.

“Nigeria is following the same difficult but necessary path taken by reforming economies across the world. Those who oppose it should do so with facts, honesty, and workable solutions, not theatrical despair and recycled slogans,” he added.

Continuing, he noted that: “Tax reform is not an assault on Nigerians. Fiscal irresponsibility is. What truly punishes the poor is inflation driven by deficits, currency instability caused by weak revenues, and a government forced into endless borrowing because it cannot collect efficiently. No country has ever built a resilient economy without a functioning, enforceable tax system.

“Opposition is legitimate. Propaganda is not. Nigeria cannot be held hostage by those who offer no credible alternatives beyond suspension, delay, and a return to fiscal chaos. Reform is never painless, but postponing reform only deepens the pain and transfers the burden to future generations.

“Nigeria is following the same difficult but necessary path taken by reforming economies across the world. Those who oppose it should do so with facts, honesty, and workable solutions, not theatrical despair and recycled slogans.”