The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has firmly dismissed widespread speculation that a five percent surcharge on fuel will begin in January 2026.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, Oyedele provided clarity on the policy’s status. He explained that the provision was included in a new law with a future commencement date, which would only be activated by an official order from the minister.
“Nobody will just spontaneously introduce the tax and create problems for the system,” Oyedele stated.
He further revealed that even before the enactment of the law, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) had attempted to collect the tax. This move was promptly halted by the committee.
“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 emphasised.
His comments come amid significant public criticism and a threat of strike action from the Trade Union Congress (TUC). Oyedele addressed the union’s position directly, arguing that their protest was misdirected. He clarified that the surcharge was not a new initiative of President Bola Tinubu’s administration but was originally introduced in 2007.
“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,” he told the hosts. “The TUC should have complained and protested when this was introduced in 2007.”
Oyedele assured Nigerians that the reform initiatives of the administration would yield positive results and asked for public patience. He explained that the intended purpose of the surcharge is to generate funds specifically for road maintenance, aiming to address the country’s poor infrastructure, which he identified as a major driver of high logistics costs and inflation.
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