ADC: Tinubu May Impose 5% Fuel Tax If Re-elected

• Warns petrol may hit N1,522.50/litre, government may activate tax after 2027 election

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration may implement a proposed five per cent fuel tax after the 2027 presidential election if he is re-elected, warning that the measure could push petrol prices above N1,500 per litre and worsen the cost-of-living crisis.

The party was reacting to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele’s, disclosure on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, that the government would introduce the fuel tax when economic conditions improved.

ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, alleged that the administration’s intention was to activate the tax after securing re-election.

“They have already enacted the law for a five per cent tax on fuel under the Nigeria Tax Act. And President Tinubu has signed it into law since June 2025. If they have not activated it yet, it is because of re-election.

“Once Tinubu is re-elected, he will announce the new tax law on the inauguration ground, just as he did for fuel subsidy in 2023,” Abdullahi said.

The party warned that if the five per cent surcharge were passed directly to consumers, petrol selling at N1,450 per litre would rise to N1,522.50, with potentially far-reaching consequences for transportation, food distribution, small businesses and household expenditure.

“This Tinubu-led APC never runs out of new ways to make survival more expensive. Each time Nigerians struggle to recover from one punishing policy, another burden is waiting around the corner.

“A government that has already removed fuel subsidies and subjected citizens to unprecedented economic pressures should be discussing relief, not preparing additional taxes,” the party said.

The ADC also questioned the administration’s justification that the proposed tax would support road infrastructure and fuel-price stabilisation, insisting that Nigerians deserved measurable improvements in public services and infrastructure before being asked to shoulder additional financial burdens.

The party recalled that Tinubu, as governor of Lagos State, had opposed a fuel tax being contemplated by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in December 2003, describing it as “double taxation” that placed an unfair burden on citizens.

“Now, Tinubu does not care if the people are burdened to death,” the ADC said.

The party urged Nigerians to embrace the fuel production subsidy proposed by its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, arguing that the policy would reduce petrol prices and ease the broader cost-of-living crisis.

“It’s the only way to bring down, not only the cost of fuel, but also the cost of living generally,” the party said.