Hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the implementation of a new 15 percent fuel, his Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, has indicated when a proposed 5 percent fuel surcharge (tax) will be implemented.
In response to the new tax on fuel this week, stations have raised pump prices from an average of N920 to N1,005 and more.
Speaking in Lagos, Oyedele said the 5 percent fuel surcharge was awaiting a significant improvement in key economic indicators, particularly an appreciation of the naira or a fall in global crude oil prices.
He spoke at the Haulage and Logistics Magazine Conference and Exhibition in Lagos Friday, noting that while the surcharge represented a sound policy designed to fund road maintenance, introducing it now would worsen the financial strain on Nigerians.
According to him, the surcharge which was first introduced under the ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, was intended to dedicate part of fuel revenues to road repairs — 40% for federal roads and 60% for states and local governments roads.
“The idea is brilliant and already being implemented in more than 150 countries,” Oyedele said, adding that most of Nigeria’s 200,000 kilometres of roads are in poor condition.
He clarified that although the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) had requested to start collecting the levy after fuel subsidy removal, the committee rejected the move.
“We said no – introducing such a tax now would be insensitive,” he stated.
The committee, he added, included the surcharge in the draft tax law but with safeguards requiring the Minister of Finance to issue an official order before it takes effect.
“For me, the right time will be when the naira strengthens or crude prices drop, so the surcharge won’t raise pump prices,” he said.
Oyedele also assured that the ongoing tax reforms would deliver significant relief to the haulage and logistics sector by eliminating multiple taxation, reducing costs, and improving efficiency.
“We are not introducing new taxes; we are removing the many duplicated ones that frustrate transporters and increase prices,” he said.
He explained that under the new policy, small transport and logistics businesses with annual turnover below N100 million will be exempt from company income tax, while eligible operators will benefit from VAT refunds and tax incentives.
Oyedele added that the reforms would simplify Nigeria’s complex tax system.
Additionally, the reforms would ensure that all collections are transparent and efficiently shared ac
ross all levels of government.
