Fuel Tax Not on the Table, Oyedele Tells Nigerians

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has dismissed reports that the Federal Government plans to introduce a fuel tax, describing them as fake news. In a post on X on Tuesday, Oyedele said he was clear during a recent interview that a fuel tax was not being considered. He accused some online reports of misrepresenting his comments, which suggested that the government might introduce the levy when economic conditions improve and Nigerians’ incomes can accommodate the additional cost. “Having removed the fuel subsidy, it would be insensitive for government to impose a fuel tax at this time,” he said, urging Nigerians to disregard what he described as misleading headlines and watch his original remarks.

Oyedele made the comments during an interview on the sidelines of the 2026 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand. He explained that imposing a fuel tax while petrol was subsidized would have been counterproductive because the government would effectively bear the cost of the tax itself. The minister also argued that economic policy should prioritize growing incomes faster than prices rise rather than focusing solely on suppressing prices. He maintained that introducing a fuel tax under current economic conditions would add to the financial pressure on Nigerians still dealing with the effects of subsidy removal.

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