Dare Babalola
President Bola Tinubu has approved the introduction of a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel imports into Nigeria.
The initiative is aimed at protecting local refineries and stabilising the downstream market, but it is likely to raise pump prices.
In a letter dated October 21, 2025, reported publicly on October 30, 2025, and addressed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Tinubu directed immediate implementation of the tariff as part of what the government described as a “market-responsive import tariff framework.”
The letter, signed by his Private Secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, and sent to newsmen on Wednesday, conveyed the President’s approval following a proposal by the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Zacch Adedeji.
“The core objective of this initiative is to operationalise crude transactions in local currency, strengthen local refining capacity, and ensure a stable, affordable supply of petroleum products across Nigeria,” Adedeji stated.
The FIRS boss also warned that the current misalignment between locally refined products and import parity pricing has created instability in the market.
He said, “While domestic refining of petrol has begun to increase and diesel sufficiency has been achieved, price instability persists, partly due to the misalignment between local refiners and marketers.
“At current CIF levels, this represents an increment of approximately 99.72 per litre, which nudges imported landed costs toward local cost-recovery without choking supply or inflating consumer prices beyond sustainable thresholds. Even with this adjustment, estimated Lagos pump prices would remain in the range of N964.72 per litre ($0.62), still significantly below regional averages such as Senegal ($1.76 per litre), Cote d’Ivoire ($1.52 per litre), and Ghana ($1.37 per litre).”
