CUPP sues FG over VAT increase, borrowing, others

The Coalition of United Political Parties, on Tuesday, said it has, through one of its alliance party members, Action Peoples Party, commenced legal action in the Federal High Court over the increase in Valued Added Tax and other policies allegedly capable of unleashing sufferings on Nigerians.

The Federal Government had recently announced its plan to increase VAT from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

The CUPP spokesman, Mr. Imo Ugochinyere, in a statement, said the suit was aimed at bringing succour to Nigerians, who he said, had already been traumatised and impoverished.

He alleged that Nigerians were daily being punished by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government through obnoxious tax regime and hiking of prices of government services.

According to him, the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Ekwo Ekwo of Court 5 has since commenced hearing in the litigation.

READ ALSO: Customs intercept 34 containers of rice at seaport

Ugochinyere said, “We have asked the Federal High Court to determine three questions and we are optimistic that they will all be answered in our favour as they are all issues of law and public interest.

For a government to clearly go outside the direct provisions of the law just to (inflict) suffering on citizens and tax them out of existence is condemnable, arbitrary, undemocratic, tyrannical, capricious, oppressive, cruel and indeed must be rejected and resisted.

“Is it not worrisome that a government that has failed for six months to implement a new minimum wage regime which would have barely lifted the  purchasing power of workers has since that time increased VAT, agreed to return toll gates, embarked on unbridled borrowing, increased electricity tariff without commensurate increase in electricity supply, uses a quarter of the budget to service debts and imposes other jankara economic policies and wicked taxes all aimed at tightening the economic space of the common citizen while they live in affluence and extravagance including abandoning governance to unelected hands and junketing from one foreign country to another.”