The 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, Peter Obi has said that the taxation approach adopted by Nigeria is against the global standard for honest leadership.

In a post made in X on Friday, Obi said that a nation cannot attain economic growth and prosperity by taxing its poor population.

According to the former Anambra State governor, lasting economic and social progress can only be ascertained through national consensus.

He also noted that leaders who have succeeded in uniting their people around a shared vision do so by sharing a defining quality – honesty.

Further addressing the need for transparency in governance, Obi said, every citizen deserves nothing less but truth from those who lead them.

“True leaders do not exploit their people to enrich themselves and a few cronies; they build trust, unity, and shared purpose – the foundation of sustainable progress.

“It is against this standard of honest leadership that Nigeria’s current approach to taxation must be measured. If taxation is to function as a genuine social contract, it must be rooted in sincerity, fairness, and concern for the welfare of the people,” Obi said.

He also called for clarity around all issues of taxation and its impact on incomes and businesses while detailed explanations should be made available on its expected contribution to national development.

“Without this transparency, taxation becomes a tool of confusion and burden rather than a mechanism for growth and development.

“Nigeria must rethink taxation if it is serious about economic growth, national unity, and shared prosperity. The purpose of sound fiscal policy is not merely to raise revenue; it is to make the people wealthier so that the nation itself becomes stronger. Yet today, Nigerians are asked to pay taxes without clarity, explanation, or visible benefit.

“The solution begins with empowering small and medium-sized enterprises in every community. When small businesses thrive, jobs are created, incomes rise, and the tax base expands naturally. You cannot tax your way out of poverty – you must produce your way out of it,” he added.

Also describing the ongoing tax fraud saga as alarming, Obi said for the first time in Nigeria’s history, a tax law has reportedly been forged.

He noted, “The National Assembly itself has admitted that the version gazetted is not what was passed into law. Yet citizens are being asked to pay higher taxes under this manipulated framework—without transparency, without explanation, and without corresponding benefits.

“There is no virtue in celebrating increased government revenue while the people grow poorer. Taxing poverty does not create wealth; it deepens hardship. Any tax system that makes citizens poorer violates the fundamental principles of good governance and sound fiscal policy.

“Nigeria needs a fair, lawful, and people-centred tax system—one that supports production, rewards enterprise, protects the vulnerable, and restores trust between government and citizens. Only then can taxation become a true tool for unity, growth, and shared prosperity,” he wrote on X.