Civil society organisations are urging the Federal Government to suspend plans to impose a 15 percent import tariff on petrol, warning that such a move could disrupt market stability and promote monopoly in the oil sector.
Led by the Executive Secretary of the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa, Ezenwa Nwagwu, the groups argue that the policy should only be implemented when the country can sufficiently meet up to 80% of its fuel demands through local production.
The Federal Government had announced plans to introduce a 15 percent import tariff on petrol, a measure aimed at boosting local refining and cutting down the nation’s heavy dependence on imported fuel.
However, the decision has sparked concerns among civil society groups and fuel marketers who argue that the timing is inappropriate.
With only one major refinery currently operational and meeting just about 40 percent of the nation’s fuel needs, they say Nigeria still relies heavily on imports to fill the gap.
Organisations such as the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) believe the proposed tariff could discourage private sector investment, distort fair pricing, and undermine efforts to stabilize the downstream oil sector — urging the government to suspend the plan for now.
They warn that the move could shrink market access rather than expand it, potentially worsening fuel shortages, raising pump prices, and pushing smaller marketers out of business.
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The groups are calling on the government to assess the broader economic implications of the policy and instead focus on promoting transparency, fair competition, and consumer protection across the sector.
With Nigeria’s fuel market still in a delicate phase of reform, they stress that government policies must strike a balance between supporting local production and maintaining open market principles, ensuring fairness, affordability, and efficiency for all stakeholders in the energy value chain
(Editor: Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie)
