The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has decried move by the present administration to implement both the Fuel and Aviation taxes, effective from next year.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi who spoke with newsmen in Abuja at the weekend, said the All Progressives Congress-led federal government has no plan to mitigate the pains of Nigerians but was determined to compound it.

Checks by Sunday Tribune revealed that a 5% fuel surcharge on petrol and diesel, which was part of the 2007 Federal Road Maintenance Law and accommodated in the 2025 Tax Act would take effect from next year.

Further checks revealed that the present administration was planning to impose additional taxes on scheduled airlines under the same 2025 Tax Act 2025.

Aviation industry operators have since expressed concern that the move could devastate the sector and worsen the plight of passengers already facing record-high ticket prices.

Findings showed that domestic airline operators currently pay Passenger Service Charge, Ticket Sales Tax, Cargo Sales Charge, five per cent on all aviation contracts, and a $20 security levy.

The ADC National Publicity Secretary maintained that Nigerians are already facing crippling economic challenges in the face of removal of fuel subsidy, devaluation of the Naira and scary foreign debts.

He declared that Nigerians were determined to oust the APC in next general elections as a fresh mandate for the Tinubu-led administration would push them to early graves.

He said: “You said we’ve been critical of the ruling party, that’s our work. That’s what opposition parties do. And that’s what they hate most, because they want to create a condition where no one will ask questions, where no one will shine the light on what they are doing. But that’s our work as opposition parties.

“Now, having said that, the question of whether four years is enough, yes, we’ve seen people who have recorded sterling achievements within four years.

“The writers of our constitution allowed for a second term for a reason, believing that when you start something in your first tenure, you can continue it in your second tenure. If the people are satisfied with the direction that you are going, then they can give you another opportunity for another four years and no more. But the question is, what direction is this government taking Nigerians? Look, I will paint a picture for you.

“This is a government that removed fuel subsidy from day one. And I’m not debating whether subsidy is the right thing to do or not to do. What I’m saying is that removal of fuel subsidy has brought untold hardship to Nigerians. So Nigerians are suffering as a result of your removal of fuel subsidy.

“Then you add debt to that without providing any mitigating intervention that will cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal on the people.

“What did you do? You added the devaluation of the Naira. That further eroded the purchasing power of the people. So it means that those who were earning N30,000 or N35,000 minimum wage, now were no longer able to use their NN35,000 for what they were using it for. Now, by the global standard, the extreme poverty line is now $2.50 per day.

“If you convert that to the devalued Naira, that gives you like N93,000 or N94,000. “So it means that even if you pay N70,000 minimum wage, majority of Nigerians will still be below the extreme poverty line.

“Now, you didn’t stop there. You now said everybody will now from January next year, you suddenly realized that there is a law that allows you to charge 5% petrol tax from January next year. So it means that even with your N35,000 or N70,000, if you buy petrol, as a vulcanizer running your small business in your corner, if you buy petrol, you pay 5% on every single liter of petrol that you buy.

“Then you didn’t stop there. I read this morning, another 5% on aviation tax, which means that for you to fly in Nigeria, flight ticket is already being priced beyond the reach of the average middle class person who wants to do business and fly from Lagos to Abuja. “Now, when you add 5% aviation tax, so it means that the airlines will now pass on, because it’s VAT, they said, will now pass on the cost to the passengers. Now, what exactly did we vote this government to do, to kill us? No, because there is something punitive about what they are doing.

“It’s not a question of whether President Tinubu is a good driver of the economy or a bad driver of the economy. The problem is that we don’t know where this driver is taking us, we don’t even know who the driver is.

“So that is that about the issue of four years, eight years and all that. In the constitution, they didn’t say eight years concurrent. It means that you can do four years and take a break and give yourself an opportunity to evaluate what you have done and come back in the future.” (Nigerian Tribune)

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