The Federal Government has dismissed concerns that Nigerians will soon face an additional five percent fuel surcharge, clarifying that there are no immediate plans to implement the provision contained in the recently passed 2025 Nigerian Tax Administration Act.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, gave this assurance on Tuesday at a press briefing in Abuja.
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He stressed that the administration remains committed to macroeconomic stability, private sector-led growth, and inclusive prosperity while taking into account the economic pressures currently confronting households and businesses.
“We understand the economic pressures faced by Nigerian households and businesses. The government is fully aware of these realities and will not take decisions that will make things even more burdensome,” Edun said.
Edun explained that the five per cent surcharge is not a new tax but a restatement of a provision first introduced in 2007 under the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Act. It was originally designed as a user charge to sustainably finance road infrastructure and maintenance across the country.
“The original purpose was that 40 per cent of the proceeds of that user charge would go to FERMA, while 60 percent would go to the states or their equivalents. The policy objective was to ensure safer, better maintained roads, critical not only for safety of lives and property but also for mobility and economic growth,” he noted.
He clarified that the inclusion of the surcharge in the 2025 Nigerian Tax Administration Act was simply to harmonise existing provisions into a transparent framework for clarity and compliance.
The Minister stressed that the new Tax Act, which President Bola Tinubu signed into law in June, does not mean automatic taxation or the immediate introduction of fresh charges.
“The five per cent fuel surcharge mentioned in the Act would not automatically come into effect. Before any such charge can be applied, there is a process: it requires a commencement order from the Minister of Finance, and it must be published in a Gazette. As of today, no order has been issued, none is being prepared, and there is no immediate plan to implement any surcharge,” Edun emphasised.
He further explained that the provisions of the Act will only become operational from January 2026, giving the government ample time to prepare institutions, businesses, and the public for its effective rollout.
Edun described the 2025 Nigerian Tax Administration Act as Nigeria’s most comprehensive tax reform in decades. The reform consolidates four separate bills, the Nigerian Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, the Revenue Service Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Bill, into one streamlined framework.