Oyedele denies plan for fuel tax, says reports of levy are 'fake news'
- Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele says the government has no plan to tax petrol.
- He said his ARISE News interview was misrepresented and called the reports fake news.
- Oyedele said a fuel levy now would be insensitive to Nigerians after subsidy removal.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has said the Federal Government is not planning to introduce a tax on petrol, calling reports suggesting otherwise "fake news".
In a post on X on Tuesday, Oyedele said his remarks during an interview with ARISE News had been taken out of context, and that a fuel levy is not something the government is working on.
The clarification followed reports that the government would bring in the levy once the economy steadied and Nigerians' incomes could carry it. Oyedele said his words should not be read as an announcement of any such plan.
Why it matters for motorists and households
Any new charge on petrol would land on transport fares, food prices and the cost of running a generator or a small business, at a time when many Nigerians are still adjusting to life after the petrol subsidy was removed.
Oyedele said adding a fuel tax in the current conditions would show little regard for citizens still feeling the effects of that removal. He described that as his position for now.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2026 International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, the minister explained that taxing petrol while it was still subsidised would have made no sense, because the government would in effect be paying the tax to itself.
He also said the better approach is to help incomes rise faster than prices, rather than hold prices down. According to him, whether fuel taxation is ever considered would depend on economic stability and better earnings, not on a wish to collect more tax from Nigerians.
Both PM News and Independent reported the same account of his post and interview.
What happens next
For now, the government's stated position is that no fuel tax is on the table. Nigerians will watch whether that holds as the government continues its push to raise revenue and steady the economy.
