Eniola Yekini
Former Senate President, David Mark has alerted that the newly introduced taxes by the Federal Government will worsen Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis and deepen public despair, saying the measures risk pushing already overburdened citizens further into hardship
Mark gave the warning in a new year message in which he reviewed Nigeria’s economic, security and democratic conditions in 2025 and outlined the opposition’s concerns and expectations for 2026.
He stated that 2025 ended as a year of intense difficulty for most Nigerians, arguing that the government’s promise of renewed hope translated instead into rising prices, shrinking purchasing power and expanding poverty, with food, essential medicines and transportation increasingly beyond the reach of many households.
“The renewed hope that the government promised has yielded more misery and widespread hardship, as citizens battled with an ever-rising cost of living,” Mark said.
He said the situation was being compounded by new fiscal measures introduced at a time when citizens were already struggling to cope with daily expenses.
“These taxes will not renew hope; they will renew hopelessness,” Mark said.