Fuel taxes to come when Nigerians’ incomes improve, economy stabilises — Oyedele
Nigeria will introduce fuel taxes only when the economy stabilises and citizens’ incomes improve, says Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele. Read More:…
Taiwo Oyedele chairs the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, the body behind Nigeria's recent overhaul of its tax laws, including new legislation consolidating multiple levies and adjusting VAT rules. Fuel taxation has long been a sensitive subject in Nigeria, where the 2023 removal of the petrol subsidy already triggered a sharp rise in pump prices and a cost-of-living crisis, making any additional levy on petroleum products politically and economically fraught.
The minister's comments address recurring public concern that new tax reforms could pile further costs onto fuel, which underpins transport fares and prices across the economy. Both reports agree on the central message — that government is deferring any fuel tax until incomes rise and the economy stabilises — but neither outlet specifies a timeline, target metrics for "stabilisation," or how such a tax would be structured when eventually introduced.