Economy
5% Fuel Tax Won’t Take Effect January 2026—Edun Assures Nigerians
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, has clarified that there are no immediate plans to implement the proposed 5 per cent tax on petroleum products, backing up an initial assertion by the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister explained that although the policy was included in the new tax administration set to take effect on January 1, 2026, its implementation will not proceed without following all formal processes involved.
His explanations follow growing concerns regarding the implementation of the 5 per cent fuel tax.
Mr Edun clarified that the surcharge is a long-standing provision, originally introduced in 2007 under the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Act, and is not a new tax introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The Minister further explained that the inclusion of the surcharge in the 2025 Act is aimed at consolidating and harmonizing existing laws for greater clarity and easier compliance.
“The tax reform bills and the tax act would not become operational until January 1, 2026, and the 5 per cent fuel surcharge which is mentioned therein will not automatically come into effect. There is even a process.
“Before any surcharge can come into effect it requires the commencement order from the Minister of Finance and this indeed must be published in a gazette, so it is not automatic that we will wake up on January 1 and there is a new tax.
“There is a whole formal process involved and as at today no order has been issued, no is being prepared and there is no immediate plan to implement any surcharge,” he stated.
Earlier, Mr Oyedele, during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday morning, said there was no regulation that says the surcharge would be imposed from January.
“The decision was made to put this in the new law and to put a commencement date that is going to be in the future, based on an order to be gazetted by the minister. So, nobody will just spontaneously introduce the tax and create problems for the system.
“There is nothing that says this tax will start 1st January 2026. People need to get that right,” he disclosed.
The development has led to outrage from many quarters, lamenting the high cost of living in the country. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) also threatened to strike if the decision is not reversed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
