Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele has dismissed reports that the Federal Government plans to introduce a fuel tax once the economy stabilises and Nigerians’ incomes improve, describing the claims as “fake news”.
Oyedele, who also serves as the coordinating minister of the economy, made the clarification in a post on X on Tuesday, saying his comments during an interview with ARISE News had been taken out of context.
He maintained that a fuel tax was not being considered, stressing that a “fuel tax is not on the table”.
The clarification followed an interview with ARISE News business correspondent, Rotus Odiri, on the sidelines of the 2026 International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
During the interview, the minister explained that fuel taxes could only be considered when economic conditions improved sufficiently for Nigerians to bear the additional cost.
He noted that taxes make up between 20 and 80 per cent of petrol pump prices in some countries, while several African nations impose between six and 10 separate taxes on petroleum products.
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Oyedele argued that introducing the levy while petrol subsidies were still in place would have been ineffective, as the government would essentially be paying the tax itself.
He also described imposing the tax immediately after the removal of the petrol subsidy as insensitive to Nigerians.
“The objective should be that instead of trying to suppress prices, which hasn’t worked for us, it hasn’t worked for any country in the world, not one. Instead of trying to suppress prices, think about how to grow income faster than prices rise,” Oyedele said.
“That’s how you bring prosperity and grow the middle class and that is exactly what we are doing as led by Mr. President himself.
“At the appropriate time, when the economy has stabilised and income level will be able to accommodate it, those taxes will come. Not because we want to impose taxes.”
In his subsequent post, Oyedele reiterated that introducing a fuel tax under the current economic conditions would be insensitive, particularly following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
He rejected reports suggesting that the government had committed to implementing the levy once the economy stabilised, insisting that such claims misrepresented his position.