Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, who made the disclosure, said revenue from the levy would support road infrastructure and the development of a fuel reserve to cushion future price shocks, stressing that implementation would require a ministerial order published in the Official Gazette.
Oyedele spoke during an interview on the sidelines of the 2026 International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
His comments come against the background of previous resistance by organised labour and business groups to the five per cent surcharge on chargeable fossil fuel products provided for in Nigeria’s tax framework.
Its commencement remains subject to an order by the finance minister. He said introducing the tax while petrol was subsidised would have been counterproductive because the government would effectively have paid the charge itself.
Imposing it immediately after subsidy removal, he added, would have placed additional pressure on Nigerians.“The objective should be that instead of trying to suppress prices, which hasn’t worked for us, it hasn’t worked for any country in the world, not one.
