The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, says President Bola Tinubu’s government did not introduce the 5% surcharge on fuel.
Oyedele spoke on Tuesday when he was featured in televised interview, disclosing that the law was introduced in 2007.
“One very important message for people to know is that this surcharge was not introduced by this government. It was introduced in 2007,” Oyedele told Channels Television.
“And then it was not implemented because the government was subsidising fuel.”
In the past few days, reports about a new 5% surcharge on fuel had gained momentum in the country. Critics have faulted the timing of the fee, which many claimed would be implemented in January. The surcharge stipulates a 5% fee on any litre of fuel purchased, prompting backlash from Nigerians.
However, Oyedele has explained that the surcharge was initially not part of the tax bills signed into law by the president earlier in the year.