The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has scheduled a nationwide demonstration against the new tax laws’ adoption for January 14, 2026, expressing worries about how they will affect students and the larger Nigerian population.
In a statement released on Wednesday, NANS President Comrade Olushola Oladoja revealed this, expressing his deep displeasure and complete lack of faith in the fiscal and economic advisors around President Bola Tinubu.
Oladoja claimed that Tinubu has persisted in pushing the administration into a preventable national conflict over the contentious Tax Laws through what he referred to as their foolish guidance.
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According to NANS, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has shown himself to be incompetent in handling the initial interactions related to the new tax system’s installation.
The NANS president claimed that Adedeji’s inexperience, bad stakeholder management, and awful execution strategy are about to undermine the Tinubu administration’s hard-won victories in other crucial economic areas.
“The decision to proceed with implementing the Tax Reform Law from 1 January 2026 is not only unfortunate but sets a dangerous precedent for a government that claims commitment to participatory reforms and democratic values.
“Nigeria is a constitutional democracy, not a dictatorship. No policy, no matter how well intentioned, can be forcefully implemented without the consent and confidence of the majority of the people.
“It is therefore disturbing and unacceptable that Mr President is being advised to proceed with implementing this law, even when the National Assembly, the constitutionally recognised representatives of the Nigerian people, has raised fundamental questions regarding discrepancies in the gazetted version of the law,” Oladoja added.
The president of NANS added that it was disgraceful that the government had chosen to move on with the implementation of the tax laws, despite the dire economic repercussions it would bring about for a large number of Nigerians.
“More concerning is the fact that civil society organisations, youth groups and students’ bodies across the country have openly expressed strong reservations, calling for the suspension of implementation until all grey areas are resolved, particularly issues bordering on constitutional integrity, transparency, and comprehensive public education and sensitisation of the Nigerian populace,” he noted.
According to him, the government must realise that the people are always more powerful than those in positions of authority, even though there can be no government without the governed.
“It is against this backdrop that NANS declares Tuesday, 14 January 2026, as a National Day of Action against the implementation of the controversial Tax Reform Law,” the statement stated.
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He urged the national secretariat, campus chapters, state joint councils, zonal coordinators, and all NANS institutions to immediately mobilise in large numbers for a nonviolent mass protest and march to the Presidential Villa gate in Abuja on the specified date.
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