Former Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has warned that prosperity cannot be achieved by taxing poverty, urging the Federal Government to rethink its approach to taxation to promote economic growth, national unity and shared prosperity.

Obi, in a statement on his X-handle, on Friday, said sustainable economic and social progress depends on honest leadership, transparency and national consensus, noting that countries that have successfully transformed their economies were led by governments that built trust and unity among their citizens.

He argued that taxation should function as a social contract between government and the people, anchored on fairness, clarity and concern for citizens’ welfare.

According to him, tax policies must be clearly explained, including their impact on incomes and their contribution to national development, warning that opaque taxation regimes only deepen hardship.

The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria’s fiscal policies should focus on making citizens wealthier rather than merely increasing government revenue, stressing that a nation grows stronger when its people are economically empowered.

Obi identified the empowerment of small and medium-sized enterprises as central to expanding the economy and broadening the tax base. He said thriving small businesses create jobs, raise incomes and increase tax revenue naturally, insisting that no country can tax its way out of poverty but must instead grow through increased production.

He also expressed concern over the ongoing controversy surrounding alleged tax fraud, describing it as alarming. Obi noted that the National Assembly had reportedly admitted that the tax law gazetted was different from what was passed, yet citizens were being asked to pay higher taxes under the disputed framework.

According to him, celebrating increased government revenue at a time when citizens are becoming poorer contradicts the principles of good governance and sound fiscal policy, warning that taxing poverty only deepens economic hardship.

Obi called for a fair, lawful and people-centred tax system that supports production, rewards enterprise, protects the vulnerable and restores trust between government and citizens, saying only such an approach can make taxation a genuine tool for unity, growth and shared prosperity.