Taiwo Popoola
The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has disclosed that the 5 percent surcharge on fuel was introduced in 2007.
Oyedele claimed on Tuesday while responding to questions in an interview on ‘The Morning Brief’, a programme on Channels Television.
He stated that the law was not introduced by the President Bola Tinubu administration.
“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 said.
Urban Express News recalls that in the past few days, reports about a new 5 percent surcharge on fuel had gained momentum in the country.
Some critics have slammed the timing of the tax, which is believed would come into force in January 2026.
The surcharge stipulates a 5 percent tax on any litre of fuel purchased.
The proposal has attracted backlash from irate Nigerians.
However, Oyedele explained that the surcharge was initially not part of the tax bills signed into law by the President earlier in the year.
“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.
