APC chieftain warns Tinubu against implementing 15% fuel import tariff

strong>By Emmanuel Mogbede

A chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC Chief Ayiri Emami has strongly warned President Bola Tinubu against approving the implementation of a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel imported into Nigeria as advised by Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)

Emami made the appeal while speaking with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

Emani who is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of A & E Group, a company with investments in Oil and Gas, Construction and haulage said ordinary
Nigerians would ultimately be at the receiving end of the new tariff was approved.

“Anybody advising President Tinubu to impose a 15 per cent tax on petroleum right now, is not doing him any good.

“This kind of policy will not hurt marketers, it will hurt ordinary Nigerians. Whatever tax you put on petroleum goes straight back to the people on the streets.

“Nigerians are already struggling, if I were to meet Mr President, I would tell him plainly, that this is not the time for such,” Emami said.

He explained that the cost of fuel affects every Nigerian, including those in riverian areas who depended on fishing and petty traders in underserved communities.

“When you buy fuel, it determines whether you can even go out to fish. It is not that the fish are gone, it is that we can’t afford to reach them anymore.

“So anybody bringing up this idea of 15 per cent tax on import duty on petrol and diesel brought into Nigeria should be advised against it.

“This is my government, and I know we need money, but there are other areas to look into, whatever you do in petroleum pricing always goes back to the masses.

“For me, that 15 per cent import duty should be kept aside until government provides more relief to Nigerians,” the APC chieftain stressed.

The new import duty according to the FIRS was to protect domestic refineries and promote stability in the downstream oil sector.

According to the FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, the core objective of the initiative was to operationalise crude transactions in local currency.

He said it was also to strengthen local refining capacity, and ensure a stable, affordable supply of petroleum products across Nigeria.

He maintained that the new tariff system would prevent duty-free fuel imports from undermining local refineries and promote a fair, competitive downstream sector.

President Bola Tinubu had since ordered the FIRS and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to immediately begin enforcing the tariff.