ABUJA — The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has clarified that the controversial 5 percent surcharge on fuel was not introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration but has existed since 2007.
Oyedele made the disclosure on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, noting that the levy was never implemented in the past because fuel subsidies were in place.
“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,” he explained.
In recent days, news of the surcharge — which imposes a 5 percent tax on every litre of fuel purchased — has sparked outrage among Nigerians, with critics describing the timing as insensitive. The charge is expected to take effect in January 2026.
Oyedele stressed that the surcharge was not part of the original tax bills signed into law by President Tinubu earlier this year, but came up during deliberations on tax harmonization.
“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,” he said.
Despite the clarification, public discontent continues to mount over what many see as an additional burden on already strained households.
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