September 09, (THEWILL) — Taiwo Oyedele, the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, has refuted reports that the implementation of the Federal Government’s proposed 5% tax on petroleum products, will commence on January 1, 2026.
The Nigeria Trade Union Congress (TUC), on Monday, rejected the proposed petrol tax, describing it as a reckless economic move that would worsen the plight of already overburdened citizens.
Urging the Federal government to halt the plan, the congresses threatened to mobilise Nigerian workers and the masses for a total nationwide resistance of the tax.
“The TUC hereby urges the federal government to immediately stop this anti-people’s plan in its entirety. Failure to do so will leave us with no option but to mobilise Nigerian workers and the masses for a total nationwide resistance. Strike action is firmly on the table if the government dares to ignore this warning and go ahead to implement this policy”, it warned.
Speaking on Tuesday when he featured on Channels Television’s ‘The Morning Brief’, Oyedele faulted the TUC over its threat, arguing that the surcharge was introduced in 2007 and not the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Noting that “the decision was made to put this in the new law and to put a commencement date that is going to be in the future, based on an order to be gazetted by the minister. TUC, which is planning to go on strike to say it should be removed. I don’t know what they want the government to remove, because it hasn’t been imposed, and there is no regulation that says it would be imposed from January. The TUC should have complained and protested when this was introduced in 2007.”
He stressed that “nobody will just spontaneously introduce the tax and create problems for the system.”
Oyedele emphasised that shortly after President Bola Tinubu signed the tax bills into law on June 26th, there was already an attempt by FERMA to collect 5% petrol tax but were stopped.
“We had to say to them, ‘You can’t collect it because the new law says you’re not the one to collect and commencement will not happen till the minister says so.’ There is nothing that says this tax will start 1st January 2026. People need to get that right”, he stressed.
While seeking support for the proposed petrol tax, Oyedele, who disclosed that Nigeria has about 200,000 kilometres of roads with only 60,000 paved, making logistics costly, unsafe, and inefficient, said the surcharge will help the government with funds to maintain the roads.
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