5% Fuel Surcharge Introduced In 2007, Not By Tinubu’s Govt — Oyedele

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, says the 5% Fuel Tax was introduced by previous administration in 2007 and not by President Bola Tinubu’s government. 

Oyedele spoke on Channels Television Tuesday Programme, The Morning Brief, adding that the law was introduced in 2007.

His words, "One very important message for people to know is that this surcharge was not introduced by this government. It was introduced in 2007.

“And then it was not implemented because the government was subsidising fuel.

“While we were doing this tax reform, it was not even in the original proposal, so it was not like the President proposed it to the National Assembly. But in the process of working on the bills, these issues came up, and then the decision was made that we should not have different agencies collecting taxes.

“So, the law that set up this surcharge mandated the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, to collect this surcharge: 40% of it was to be for the Federal Government road, and 60% was meant to go to the states. Like I said, it was not implemented.”

In the past few days, reports about a new 5% surcharge on fuel had gained momentum in the country, even as critics have faulted the timing of the fee, which many claimed would be implemented in January. 

The surcharge stipulates a 5% fee on any litre of fuel purchased, prompting backlash from Nigerians.

However, Oyedele has explained that the surcharge was initially not part of the tax bills signed into law by the president earlier in the year, stressing that, there was no indication that the implementation of the surcharge would begin in January 2026, contrary to speculations.

Since reports about the surcharge began to make headlines, civil society organisations and trade unions have faulted the move, calling on the Federal Government to backtrack, with the Trade Union Congress, TUC, threatening to embark on strike over the development, just as the Organised Private Sector rejected it.

However, Oyedele noted that the surcharge would help the country maintain its road infrastructure, even as Nigerians would benefit from it.