Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has said the President
Mohammadu Buhari led All Progressives Congress (APC) federal
government desire was to tax Nigerians to death, saying; “Nigerians
must resist any attempt to impose new tax on them.”
The governor described the federal government’s plan to increase the
cost of data as wicked, adding that “Most Nigerians are still alive
today because they are kept busy by their access to social media. They
relieve themselves of the burden of hunger and despair, placed on them
by the federal government’s lack of policy direction by reading news
and jokes, chatting with friends, watch comedy movies, etc. Denying
them of this opportunity through increment in the cost of internet
subscription will mean that the federal government deliberately wants
many Nigerians, especially the youths to die of depression.”
He hailed the Senate for directing the National Communication
Commission (NCC) to suspend the planned increment, saying; “The
government must be sensitive to the plight of the people. Today,
despite all the taxes and increments in services rendered by federal
government agencies, minimum wage has remained at N18, 000 while
millions of jobs have been lost. Do they want Nigerians to pay with
their blood?”
In a release issued in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday, by his Special
Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka,
Governor Fayose said “If the only way the federal government believes
it can take Nigeria out of recession is to impose obnoxious taxes that
will further impoverish the people, the federal government is not
being fair to Nigerians.”
He said; “Under 20 months of Buhari’s government, petrol price was
increased from N87 to N145 per litre, kerosene; diesel and gas price
was increased, electricity tariff was increased, N50 stamp duty was
introduced on bank customers, 9% tax for the use of communication
services like calls, SMS, MMS and data usage from telecommunication
service providers; internet service providers and Pay TV Stations.
“It is also under this APC government that N65 levy was imposed on
every withdrawal on ATM, various bank charges introduced, custom
duties increased, increment of VAT from five per cent to 10 per cent
contemplated, cost of vehicle plate numbers and drivers licence
increased, and now cost of internet subscription is to be increased
too.
“Is this government out to tax Nigerians to death?”
While condemning the proposed increment in the cost of data, Governor
Fayose said it was strange that the federal government came with the
idea less than three weeks after the Minister of Information and
Culture, Lai Mohammed complained about the damage being done to the
image of the Buhari’s government by the social media.
“About three weeks ago, Lai Mohammed told Nigerians that social media
was the greatest nightmare of the federal government and now, we are
being told that federal government has told telecommunication
providers to increase the cost of internet subscription. Is this not a
way of indirectly restricting Nigerians from using social media?
“They tried to gag Nigerians, using the failed social media bill, now
they want to use increment of internet subscription to achieve what
they could not achieve with the social media bill last year. Nigerians
must say no to this and I am standing with the youths of Nigeria to
say no to any increment in the cost of data,” Fayose said.