A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Chille Igbawua, has slammed the proposed 5% surcharge on fuel.
Featuring on ‘The Morning Brief’ on Channels Television on Thursday, Igbawua said the removal of subsidy on the product has already put pressure on Nigerians.
He stressed that with the removal of fuel subsidy, the government ought to scrap the proposed 5% fuel surcharge.
“So, an ADC government come 2027, as we believe, is going to introduce measures that will cushion the effect of the removal of the subsidy and then manage it because you remove subsidy, you have money coming in, but you’re not telling anybody what you’re doing with the money, and then you want to introduce a 5% tax on fuel at the pump.
“Countries that are taking this pump tax are taking it because they’re paying subsidies. Now, if you’re not paying subsidies, why do you go back and tax again? Because you’ve already removed the subsidy. So, what’s the benefit of being a citizen in an oil-producing economy,” he asked.
DAILY POST recalls that President Bola Tinubu, during his inauguration in May 2023, removed subsidies on fuel, saying the country could no longer afford them and would instead use the monies to fund infrastructural projects.
That development pushed the cost of the essential commodity from less than N200 per litre to close to N1,000, depending on the part of the country.
Two years after the move, Igbawua has accused the Federal Government of poorly managing the funds from the removal of fuel subsidy.
