FIRS chairman, Adedeji, defends new 15% import duty on petrol, diesel

Adedeji argued that the tax was not levied to increase revenue but rather to align import costs with domestic realities.




Zacch Adedeji, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has justified the 15 per cent import duty on petrol and diesel recently approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the tax is aimed at encouraging domestic refining and resolving the misalignment between local refiners and marketers.

​He made this known in a memo to the President following the approval of the import duty on petrol and diesel on Thursday.

​This move, some analysts argue, could push pump prices up by between N100 and N200 per litre and further deepen the inflationary crisis already battering households and businesses.

​However, speaking on the development,
Adedeji maintained that the aim is not to increase revenue but to take corrective measures to align import costs with domestic realities.




​He added that the current price difference between locally refined products and import parity pricing has created instability in the market.

​“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,” Adedeji wrote.

​He further clarified, “At current CIF levels, this represents an increment of approximately N99.72 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).”

​The fresh tax has attracted mixed reactions from Nigerians and stakeholders in the oil industry.

While some argue that the new tariff will negatively impact Nigerians, others believe it is squarely aimed at encouraging local production