The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has criticized the recently enacted tax law, describing it as regressive and calling for an urgent review to protect workers and low-income earners.

Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja at the unveiling of the memoir of former NLC President, Hassan Summonu, who was celebrating his 85th birthday, Ajaero said workers were deliberately excluded from the tax reform process, despite being the country’s major taxpayers.

“The tax laws went through a process that clearly excluded Nigerian workers and masses who are the major taxpayers in Nigeria,” he said. “From the Presidential Committee on Tax, which Nigerian workers were deliberately excluded from, we knew that the workers and masses were going to be on the menu. We warned of the dangers, but no one listened. Today, the result is clear: laws with serious alterations directed at making workers and the poor poorer have become the outcome.”

Ajaero said that taxing those on the national minimum wage was neither fair nor progressive. “Tax that taxes the national minimum wage is not fair. Tax that taxes the masses who are living in excruciating poverty is regressive,” he said.

The labour leader urged the Federal Government to pause and reconsider the legislation, warning that its continued implementation could undermine public trust in governance. “Insisting on going ahead is akin to muddling along in confusion and darkness since we do not know which one is truly the law. Continuing with this is a dangerous pattern that seriously undermines the tax administration itself and indeed our democracy,” he said.

Ajaero also called on the government to engage labour unions more meaningfully on policies affecting workers, including the urgent constitution of the PENCOM Board and addressing workers’ wages ahead of the next statutory national minimum wage negotiations.

“Let the government move from agonising the people to organising with them. Let us build a democracy that delivers not just political freedom but economic liberation, where the wealth of the nation serves the welfare of its people,” he said.

The NLC president pledged to continue organising and advocating for workers’ welfare, saying: “We will continue to challenge power. We will continue to fight for a Nigeria where no worker has to agonise over poverty, insecurity, heavy taxation or a stolen future riddled with national debt.”
Calls for the suspension of the tax reform law have grown among opposition figures and labour groups, who argue the policy could exacerbate economic hardship and trigger social unrest.