Recession: Tax wealthy Nigerians more, Expert advises APC governments

The All Progressives Congress has been advised to ask governments it controls to generate more revenue by increasing taxes on wealthy persons in the country.

The advice was given on Monday by the country director of Plant International, Hussain Abdul, at a workshop in Jos, Plateau State, for secretaries to governments of states governed by the party.

Mr. Abdul, who was the lead resource person at the workshop, said Nigerians living in luxury should be taxed heavily as a means of recovering money to end the recession.

He warned Nigerians to prepare for more hard times, as the economic downturn could take a long time to be reversed.

“Nobody should think that we can get out of this recession without taking hard decisions, those living luxury life need to be taxed heavily.

“How can someone who drives expensive car, on a 500 millimetre Nigerian road pay nothing?”

“Just as the President once said, abnormal challenges need urgent solution, that is what is expected of every Nigerian”, he said.

He however advised those in government to ensure that the masses do not suffer unnecessary hardships.

“Whatever it will take to ensure that the poor have access to food, good health and education of their children should be done; that is the only way we can have productive society,” he stressed.

At the forum, the Director General of Progressive Governors Forum, Salisu Lukman, also advised President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC federal government to take hard decisions to end the economic recession.

Mr. Lukman called on government at the federal and state levels to seek alternative sources of revenue to reduce hardship in the country.

According to him, Nigeria is in economic recession due to overdependence on one source of revenue.

In his address, the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, who was represented by his deputy, Sonni Tyoden, appealed to the workshop to proffer possible solutions to the present economic problem of the country.

The director’s two-day technical committee workshop, tagged “Policy design session,” holds at the Silk Hotel, Jos and ends Tuesday.