The Federal Government has said that the proposed five percent fuel surcharge will likely not begin in January 2026.
Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, made the clarification on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
Oyedele explained that while the surcharge was included in new tax legislation, its implementation date will be determined by a ministerial order to be gazetted, not automatically from January.
“There is nothing that says this tax will start 1st January 2026. People need to get that right,” he said. “Nobody will just spontaneously introduce the tax and create problems for the system.”
He disclosed that the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) had attempted to collect the levy immediately after the law was signed, but was stopped because the law specifies that only the minister can authorise commencement.
The clarification comes amid backlash from Nigerians, with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) threatening to embark on strike if the surcharge is implemented. Oyedele, however, faulted the union’s position, insisting that the measure was first introduced in 2007 by a previous administration, not under President Bola Tinubu.
“TUC should have complained and protested when this was introduced in 2007,” he said. “I don’t know what they want the government to remove, because it hasn’t been imposed, and there is no regulation that says it would be imposed from January.”