Fuel Tax: Tinubu Pushing Nigerians To The Wall, Says ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned that President Bola Tinubu may be pushing Nigerians to the wall with the newly introduced 15 per cent import duty on petrol and diesel.

Opposing the new tax, the ADC cautioned that it might further deepen economic hardship for Nigerians who are already burdened by the astronomically high cost of living.

In a statement on Friday by the spokesman of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said while it supports private investments in the energy sector, policies meant to protect such investments must also protect the people and put their interests first.

It questioned the rationale behind imposing the levy under the guise of protecting domestic production.

The party pointed out that the Port Harcourt refinery, cited as a key component of the government’s local refining strategy, collapsed just five months after a 1.5 billion dollar rehabilitation, resulting in a 366.2 billion naira loss.

The ADC noted that the Tinubu administration’s approach to economic reform has remained insensitive to the suffering of ordinary people.

It warned that economic growth that condemns the majority to a life of hardship and misery is ultimately destructive.

The ADC expressed concerns over the new fuel tax, saying it’s coming at a time when Nigerians are already “suffocating under the weight of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.”

“This fuel tax is both insensitive and misguided, and makes one wonder if the APC government ever considers the pains that its policies have continued to inflict on the people.

“From all indications, this new levy is likely to push the pump price of petrol beyond N1,000 per litre. If this happens, life would become even more unbearable for families, commuters, transporters, farmers, and small businesses already struggling under the weight of fuel subsidy removal without social protection and currency devaluation without safeguards.

“What has become clear is that the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda is, at best, a trial-and-error system and, at worst, a cynical, self-serving agenda that has no consideration for the ordinary people of Nigeria.

“While the government continues to push the narrative of economic progress, food, rent, and transport—not to talk of school fees—continue to be priced out of the reach of ordinary Nigerians,” the ADC said.

The party warned that the government could not continue with the latest “tax attack” without further compounding the people’s suffering.

It described the new import duty as ill-conceived and demanded its immediate reversal in the public interest.

The ADC said, “Nigerians deserve a government that plans, not one that panics. A government that can not run its own refineries has no business taxing those who keep the country running with their sweat and blood.

“President Tinubu must understand that economic patriotism can not be enforced through pain. While we support private investments in the energy sector, we oppose any policy that could inflict more pain on Nigerians.

“If the goal is energy security and domestic refining, let there first be transparent investment in local capacity. Until then, any tax imposed to discourage import will only lead to people paying more for imported fuel, which still stands at 60 per cent of supply—a gap that can not be substituted overnight.”