The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu for approving a 15 per cent import duty on refined petroleum products.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Adebayo described the decision as “anti-people” and accused the president of imposing excessive taxes on Nigerians.
“President Tinubu is a clever tax collector. He wants to collect taxes from you for everything, including the oxygen tax, very soon. If you’re not careful, yes, the air we breathe. Just give him time; he’s going to get there,” he said.
Adebayo argued that the new tariff was a betrayal of the ideals President Tinubu once stood for. “It is an anti-people decision and a trend in the new Tinubu. Tinubu that used to be in SDP, following Abiola everywhere doing Hope 93, has practically changed to the side of the money people,” he stated.
He warned that the duty would worsen the economic hardship faced by citizens, placing the burden of the government’s policy directly on the public. “If you put 15 per cent tariffs on imported petrol, who is going to pay for it? It’s going to be paid by the person who buys the petrol at the filling station,” Adebayo said.
He placed the blame for the situation squarely on the government’s failure to make domestic refineries functional. “You are the reason why we cannot meet our domestic consumption. The president is the Minister of Petroleum. What kind of chaotic system is this?” he asked.
Adebayo further questioned the logic of charging citizens more for the government’s own shortcomings. “For example, we gave you refineries to manage. You appointed yourself Minister of Petroleum. We spent billions on turnaround maintenance. You are not making the refineries work. You are the reason why we are importing now. Because you are importing, you went from ‘I’m not paying subsidy, we are net zero, nobody pays subsidy’, you now want to surcharge me for your inefficiency. Am I the reason why refineries are not working?” he queried.
He concluded by urging the president to focus on fixing the country’s refining capacity instead of introducing new taxes. “What he needs to do is to call Heineken Lokpobiri and Bayo Ojulari and say, ‘I want those refineries to work. I give you six months, and I want fuel importation reduced to zero.”
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