The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has revealed that petrol would have become at least N130 per litre more expensive if the Federal Government had gone ahead with the planned 15% import duty on petrol and diesel.

PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, made this revelation during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday.

According to Osifo, the suspension of the import duty was not accidental, noting that the Trade Union Congress (TUC) worked behind the scenes to prevent the tariff from taking effect.

“The suspension of the 15% import duty on PMS and diesel is no coincidence. The TUC has been working quietly to ensure this outcome,” he stated.

He explained that implementing the duty would have immediately pushed petrol prices up by a minimum of N130 per litre, worsening the current cost-of-living crisis.

Osifo also pointed out that Nigeria’s local refineries are currently producing only about 40% of the country’s daily fuel needs, meaning the nation still relies heavily on imported petrol. With such limited domestic capacity, he said, both importers and local producers would have raised their prices significantly if the duty had been enforced.

“If this duty was followed through, local producers would also have reviewed their prices upward,” he added.

The Federal Government earlier announced the suspension of the import duty on premium motor spirit (petrol) and automotive gas oil (diesel), following widespread backlash and concerns about its impact on fuel prices.