The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, has explained that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent approval of a 15 per cent import duty on petrol and diesel is intended to align import costs with current domestic market realities.

Adedeji made this clarification in a memo addressed to President Tinubu following reports that the president had approved the new import tariff.

The decision means that Nigerians may soon pay an additional estimated ₦99.72 per litre for imported petrol and diesel.

According to Adedeji, the purpose of the import duty is not to increase government revenue but to correct pricing inconsistencies and support local refineries.

He emphasized that the move is designed to encourage domestic refining and address the persistent misalignment between local refiners and petroleum marketers.

“While domestic refining of petrol has begun to increase and diesel sufficiency has been achieved, price instability persists, partly due to the misalignment between local refiners and marketers,” Adedeji stated.

“At current CIF levels, this adjustment represents an increment of approximately ₦99.72 per litre, which moves imported landed costs closer to local cost recovery without disrupting supply or excessively inflating consumer prices.

“Even with this change, estimated pump prices in Lagos would remain around ₦964.72 per litre ($0.62), still considerably lower than regional averages such as Senegal ($1.76 per litre), Côte d’Ivoire ($1.52 per litre), and Ghana ($1.37 per litre),” he added.

The newly approved tax has drawn mixed reactions across the country.
An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Delta State, Ayiri Emami, criticized the policy, urging President Tinubu to reconsider the import duty, saying it would negatively impact Nigerians.

In contrast, economist and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, welcomed the development, noting that the measure would help promote local production and stabilize the petroleum market.