A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Delta state, Chief Ayiri Emami has decried approval for the implementation of a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel brought into Nigeria.
The move, according to the Federal Inland Revenue Service which secured the approval of President Bola Tinubu was to protect domestic refineries and promote stability in the downstream oil sector.
According to the FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, the core objective of this initiative is to operationalise crude transactions in local currency, strengthen local refining capacity, and ensure a stable, affordable supply of petroleum products across Nigeria.
He maintained that the new tariff system will prevent duty-free fuel imports from undermining local refineries and promote a fair, competitive downstream sector.
President Tinubu had since ordered the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to immediately begin enforcing the tariff.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the APC chieftain, who is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of A & E group, a company with investments in oil and gas, construction and haulage said ordinary Nigerians would ultimately be at the receiving end of the new tariff.
He said: “No, anybody advising Mr. President to impose a 15 percent tax on petroleum right now is not doing him any good.
“This kind of policy will not hurt marketers — it will hurt ordinary Nigerians. Whatever tax you put on petroleum goes straight back to the people on the streets. Nigerians are already hungry and struggling.
“If I were to meet Mr. President, I would tell him plainly — and I’ve told people in my community the same thing. You see, in my area, especially among those of us who live by the river and depend on fishing, the cost of fuel affects everything. When you buy fuel, it determines whether you can even go out to fish. It’s not that the fish are gone — it’s that we can’t afford to reach them anymore.
“So anybody bringing up this idea of 15 percent tax, I will not support it. This is my government, and I know we need money, but there are other areas to look into. Whatever you do in petroleum pricing always goes back to the masses.
“For me, that 15 percent should be kept aside until the government provides more relief to Nigerians. Even after removing fuel subsidy, we haven’t seen much positive reflection. Things are still hard. So why add another burden?
“Some people don’t care about Mr. President or what he’s going through — they just want to create more problems. Those are my honest opinions on the matter.”