Arewa will never pay Tinubu’s tax, we are waiting for who will force us: Sheikh Alkali Zaria https://t.co/5KLZTj0pzX
— Peoples Gazette (@GazetteNGR) December 27, 2025
Prominent Kaduna Islamic scholar, Sheikh Abubakar Alkali Zaria, has declared that northerners will not comply with the new tax set to take effect on January 1, 2026.
In a video circulating online, he vowed that any northern representatives who support the tax reforms “will be dealt with” upon returning home. “We are waiting to see who will come and make us pay these taxes,” he stated.
Mr Alkali criticised the tax reforms as undemocratic, citing the removal of fuel subsidy which he said offered no benefit to ordinary citizens. He insisted lawmakers were elected to represent the people’s interests and warned, “Any senator or member of the House of Representatives who is supporting this new tax law will be dealt with once you are back home.” He added, “Democracy is for the people, by the people and to the people.”
The reforms have sparked nationwide controversy after Sokoto lawmaker Abdussamad Dasuki alleged discrepancies between the version passed by the National Assembly and the one signed into law. While figures like Atiku Abubakar and Senator Ali Ndume demanded suspension of implementation, the National Assembly ordered a re-gazette.
However, committee chairman Taiwo Oyedele insisted the government will proceed, saying the reforms “will go ahead as planned… to provide relief to the Nigerian people.”