Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has clarified that the proposed N500 levy on every N10,000 fuel purchase will not take effect in January 2026 as widely presumed, but will commence at a later date to be announced by the Minister of Finance.
Many Nigerians have condemned the move and have asked for it to be suspended following rumours that the proposed kickoff date was January 2026.
However in a video released this morning, Oyedele said the real date will be announced by the Minister of Finance.
‘’What we have is that there was a law enacted some years back with a surcharge on fuel under the FERMA act . This is a provision that is in the new tax law and it does not take effect as of January 2026.
"What is in the new tax is that these fuel surcharges will take effect on a date in the future based on an order to be released by the Minister of Finance and we do know that the Minister of Finance is responsible enough to determine when it is appropriate to do so''
On what the funds amassed from the surcharges are meant for, Oyedele said; ‘’The intention is to earmark and dedicate the revenue from this tax into providing transport infrastructure that can reduce the cost of transporting items, logistics and and overall bring down inflation for the Nigerian people''
Watch the video of him explaining below…