Oyedele Clarifies: Fuel Surcharge Dates Back to 2007, Not Tinubu’s Policy

|By Adejumo Adekunle

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has clarified that the controversial 5 percent fuel surcharge was enacted in 2007, not introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, Oyedele stressed that the levy predated the current government but was suspended due to fuel subsidies.
“One very important message for people to know is that this surcharge was not introduced by this government. It was introduced in 2007,” he explained. “And then it was not implemented because the government was subsidising fuel.”

Public outcry has intensified in recent days over reports suggesting the surcharge, which imposes a 5 percent tax on each litre of fuel purchased, would take effect in January 2026. Critics argue that the timing of the measure could worsen the economic strain already facing Nigerians.

Oyedele further revealed that the surcharge was not part of the original tax reform bills signed into law earlier this 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 added.

The clarification comes as Nigerians brace for the possible implementation of the levy, which continues to fuel debates about the country’s fiscal direction.