Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and tax reform czar Taiwo Oyedele have moved to douse fears of a looming 5% fuel surcharge, stressing that the levy is neither automatic nor imminent.
At a joint briefing in Abuja, Edun clarified that while the Tax Administration Act becomes operational on January 1, 2026, any surcharge requires a commencement order, to be gazetted by the Finance Ministry. “No order has been issued. None is being prepared. There is no immediate plan,” he assured.
Oyedele added that the surcharge, first introduced in 2007 under the FERMA Act, was not a Tinubu-era tax. He insisted the intent was to create a dedicated fund for Nigeria’s collapsing road network, not to burden households.
Labour unions, led by the TUC, had threatened mass action over fears of a January imposition, warning of deeper inflation and hardship. But Oyedele countered: “TUC should have protested in 2007. The law has always existed. Implementation requires careful timing, not arbitrary enforcement.”
Nigeria’s road network spans 200,000km, of which only 60,000km are paved. Analysts warn that poor logistics, multiple illegal levies, and high transport costs are fuelling rural-urban inflation gaps as wide as 5%.
Edun said reforms aim to “strengthen tax governance, block leakages, and modernise revenue collection—without worsening the burden on Nigerians.”
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