The latest revelation by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele that the Federal Government plans to introduce a fuel tax in Nigeria has stirred controversy.
Nigerians are describing it as callous and insensitive to their struggling.
Although the minister clarified that the tax would solely be imposed when the Federal Government was glad that the financial system had stabilised and Nigerians’ incomes had improved sufficiently to accommodate the extra value, Nigerians have rejected his rationalization, with many describing it as one other ploy to deceive them and inflict extra ache on them.
Oyedele had, throughout an interview on the sidelines of the 2026 International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual conferences in Bangkok, Thailand, disclosed that the Federal Government would introduce a fuel tax when the financial system stabilised and Nigerians’ incomes improved sufficiently to accommodate the extra value.
He stated income from the levy would assist highway infrastructure and the event of a fuel reserve to cushion the results of future value shocks, stressing that its implementation would require a ministerial order printed within the Official Gazette.
His feedback got here in opposition to the backdrop of earlier resistance by organised labour and enterprise teams to the 5 per cent surcharge on chargeable fossil fuel merchandise offered for in Nigeria’s tax framework. Its graduation stays topic to an order by the finance minister.
He stated introducing the tax whereas petrol was subsidised would have been counterproductive as a result of the federal government would successfully have paid the cost itself. Imposing it instantly after the elimination of the subsidy, he added, would have positioned extra stress on Nigerians.
“The objective should be that instead of trying to suppress prices, which hasn’t worked for us or for any country in the world, not one, and instead of trying to suppress prices, we should think about how to grow income faster than prices rise.
“That’s how you bring prosperity and grow the middle class, and that is exactly what we are doing, as led by Mr President himself.
“At the appropriate time, when the economy is stabilised and income levels are able to accommodate it, those taxes will come. Not because we want to impose taxes,” Oyedele stated.
This newest improvement has reopened previous wounds over the elimination of the fuel subsidy, as Nigerians, significantly those that run their companies on turbines, have expressed anger and frustration with the All Progressives Congress, APC-led authorities and its insurance policies.
Explaining the proposed use of the income, Oyedele stated the fuel reserve would “help moderate prices of fuel products if anything happens.”
He added that the federal government might quickly waive the tax throughout future value shocks to ease stress on customers.
“The good thing is that the law says that tax cannot come into effect until there is a gazette. There has to be an order published in the gazette by the finance minister, which means we can’t do it in secret. Plus, we have no intention of doing stuff in secret.
“At the appropriate time, it will be clear to everyone why it needed to be done, and the benefits will be clear also to every Nigerian,” he stated.
The current surcharge framework exempts family kerosene, cooking fuel, compressed pure fuel and clear or renewable power merchandise.
As lately as June 16, 2026, the federal government dismissed stories that it was introducing recent taxes on petroleum merchandise following suggestions within the IMF’s Article IV session report. It stated the VAT waiver on petroleum merchandise remained in place and that no course of to activate the fuel surcharge was then into account.
Comparing Nigeria’s place with that of different nations, Oyedele stated taxes accounted for between 20 and 80 per cent of pump costs in some jurisdictions, whereas a number of African nations imposed between six and 10 totally different fees on petroleum merchandise.
He additionally defined the sequencing of the petrol subsidy elimination and international trade reforms, saying the federal government initially eliminated assist for petrol costs earlier than permitting the naira to modify regularly.
According to him, exchange-rate actions considerably influenced petrol costs, requiring the federal government to handle the transition whereas contemplating its affect on Nigerians.
“That is the reason why there was still a bit of subsidy in 2023. It was to manage that process because you need to be mindful of the impact on the people.”
Oyedele stated the petrol subsidy was utterly eliminated in October 2023, when authorities assist for each petrol costs and international trade was not in place.
However, fuel pricing has remained a contentious difficulty since President Bola Tinubu declared that “fuel subsidy is gone” throughout his inaugural tackle on May 29, 2023.
With the proposed fuel tax looming, Nigerians are saying that the federal government needs to be contemplating measures to cushion the cruel results of the subsidy elimination fairly than inflicting extra hardship on the folks.
A tailor, Niyi Osundare, argued that one other levy would deepen the hardship confronted by residents already battling the elimination of the subsidy, rising dwelling prices and naira depreciation.
“Why is this government so wicked? How can anybody be thinking of putting a tax on fuel when we are complaining that a litre of fuel is selling for N1,400?
“Do you know that businesses are folding up because their owners can no longer cope with the situation?
“For instance, there is hardly any electricity for small businesses to operate, so most of us rely on generators. And then, you ask yourself, how much fuel at N1,400 per litre are you prepared to buy every day?
“We are running at a great loss, and that’s why most businesses are closing down. And somebody is talking about a fuel tax, which will automatically push up the price of fuel again.
“What is wrong with the APC government? What sort of thing is this? How can people decide that the only thing they will do to their citizens is inflict pain and more pain on them?
“This is wickedness, and Nigerians should rise up. This cannot be like the announcement that ‘subsidy is gone’, which was what brought us to where we are today.
“We are crying that we can’t afford the price of fuel as it is currently sold, and somebody is telling us that the government wants to introduce a fuel tax when the economy stabilises and people’s incomes improve. When will that be?
“Can this government ever do that? It is not possible. Since 2023, when this government came in, it has been one promise after another, and all of them have ended up bringing agony and sorrow to Nigerians.
“So, this time around, they can tell their story to the marine because we will not accept any fuel tax; it won’t happen,” he acknowledged.
On the promise that the proceeds would fund highway infrastructure and cushion the results of value shocks, a lawyer and public affairs analyst, Kunle Onatade, dismissed it as a false promise.
He stated the federal government had promised Nigerians that it could use the proceeds from the elimination of the fuel subsidy for infrastructure improvement, however that had not occurred.
Instead, he argued, the federal government had borrowed extra in three years than the administration of late former President Muhammadu Buhari had borrowed in eight years.
“Who is deceiving who? Where is all the money made from the fuel subsidy removal? Has this government, in three years, not borrowed more than Buhari in eight years? What are we talking about?
“This fuel tax move is just another avenue for making more money available for them to steal. They don’t care about the citizens as long as they keep amassing wealth for themselves.
“These are a bunch of heartless and corrupt politicians masquerading as political leaders; they don’t care about anybody. Nigerians should not listen to them. The fuel tax will bring about more hardship for Nigerians,” he stated.
Business teams have additionally expressed concern concerning the implications for manufacturing, transportation and client costs.
The Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria urged the federal government to prioritise reduction for companies and households, warning that an extra fuel cost would worsen their monetary burden.
