Groups Urge NLC, TUC to Declare General Strike Over New Tax Laws

By Chinedu Echianu

A coalition of left-wing organisations has called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to declare a nationwide general strike to stop the implementation of new tax laws scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.

Operating under the banner of the Network of Abuja Left Groups, the coalition said the tax laws are anti-worker and would worsen the living conditions of Nigerians already struggling with inflation, unemployment and the removal of fuel subsidy.

In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, the group urged organised labour to mobilise workers across the country for mass resistance and street protests, warning that silence from labour would amount to complicity.

The statement was jointly signed by representatives of the Revolutionary Socialist Movement, Socialist Workers League, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Democratic Socialist Movement, and other labour-oriented civil society organisations.

According to the coalition, the tax laws are not genuine reforms but policies designed to transfer the economic burden to workers and the poor, while protecting the interests of a wealthy elite.

The group also cited allegations by some lawmakers that the tax bills were altered after passage by the National Assembly, describing such claims as evidence of “criminal intent” and warning that enforcing any law amended outside the legislative process would undermine democratic governance.

Drawing parallels with resistance to colonial-era taxation, the coalition said Nigerians have a history of defeating unjust tax policies through organised mass action, insisting that imposing higher taxes on a population facing widespread poverty cannot drive economic growth.

The Network demanded the immediate suspension and repeal of the tax laws and called for broader public consultation on any future tax reforms beyond the National Assembly.

As of the time of filing this report, the Federal Government had not reacted to the statement.