Vice presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in February 23 election, Peter Obi, has lauded national leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, for asking the federal government to stop its plan to increase Value Added Tax (VAT).
Tinubu had on Thursday, during a colloquium held to mark his 67th birthday in Abuja, said that increasing VAT to 7.5 per cent would hurt the common Nigerian the most.
Mr Obi, in a statement on Sunday by his media office, said Tinubu’s advice was in agreement with the intentions of PDP in its promise during campaigns to reduce taxes.
He also said that tax must be relaxed to entice local and foreign investors in the face of mass unemployment in the country.
Obi said the call for VAT increase or other taxes in the present economic situation amounted to insensitivity on the part of government to the people’s plight.
“It’s extremely unrealistic for anybody to think of growing the economy of this country and creating jobs just by increasing tax. It’s too simplistic an approach,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor also enjoined Tinubu to advise the ruling party on the need to restructure the country.
Obi said: “Anybody thinking that this country will work without tinkering with the political and economic structure is deceiving himself because no nation grows on injustice.”
