5% Fuel Surcharge Was Introduced In 2007, Not By Tinubu’s Govt — Oyedele
THE Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, says President Bola Tinubu’s government did not introduce the 5% surcharge on fuel.
Oyedele spoke on Tuesday when he was featured on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, disclosing that the law was introduced in 2007.
“One very important message for people to know is that this surcharge was not introduced by this government. It was introduced in 2007,” Oyedele told Channels Television.
“And then it was not implemented because the government was subsidising fuel.”
In the past few days, reports about a new 5% surcharge on fuel had gained momentum in the country. Critics have faulted the timing of the fee, which many claimed would be implemented in January. The surcharge stipulates a 5% fee on any litre of fuel purchased, prompting backlash from Nigerians.
However, Oyedele has 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.
“So, the law that set up this surcharge mandated the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to collect this surcharge: 40% of it was to be for the Federal Government road, and 60% was meant to go to the states. Like I said, it was not implemented.”
He said there is no indication that the implementation of the surcharge will begin in January, contrary to speculations.
Since reports about the surcharge began to make headlines, civil society organisations and trade unions have faulted the move, calling on the Federal Government to backtrack.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) had threatened to strike over the development, with the Organised Private Sector rejecting it.
But Oyedele believes the surcharge will help the country maintain its road infrastructure, stressing that Nigerians will benefit from it.
