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ADC condemns 15% import duty on petrol and diesel as “insensitive and misguided.”
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Says levy could push pump price beyond ₦1,000 per litre and deepen economic suffering.
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Accuses APC government of running “a trial-and-error economy” that punishes the poor.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of a 15 percent import duty on petrol and diesel, warning that the decision will worsen the hardship already facing millions of Nigerians.
In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the new fuel tax as “insensitive and misguided,” adding that it raises doubts about the administration’s understanding of the pain its policies have inflicted on citizens.
The party said while it supports private investment in Nigeria’s energy sector, the government must ensure that such policies protect the people, not just investors. It questioned the justification for the new levy, citing the collapse of the Port Harcourt refinery barely five months after a $1.5 billion rehabilitation — a failure it said had already cost the nation over ₦366 billion.
The ADC warned that the 15 percent duty could push the pump price of petrol beyond ₦1,000 per litre, making life unbearable for families, commuters, transporters, farmers, and small businesses still struggling with the aftermath of subsidy removal and currency devaluation.
According to the statement, “This new levy is likely to push the pump price of petrol beyond ₦1,000 per litre. If this happens, life would become even more unbearable for families, commuters, transporters, farmers, and small businesses already struggling under the weight of fuel subsidy removal without social protection and currency devaluation without safeguards.”
The party accused the Tinubu administration of running an economy that “condemns the majority to a life of hardship and misery,” warning that such policies are ultimately destructive.
READ ALSO:ADC Accuses Tinubu Government of Weaponising Poverty, Manipulating Hunger for Political Gain
The so-called Renewed Hope Agenda is, at best, a trial-and-error system and, at worst, a cynical, self-serving plan that has no consideration for the ordinary people of Nigeria,” the ADC stated.
It urged the Federal Government to reverse the decision immediately, insisting that Nigerians deserve “a government that plans, not one that panics.” The party added that any administration unable to manage its own refineries has no moral basis to tax those keeping the economy alive through private efforts.
“President Tinubu must understand that economic patriotism cannot be enforced through pain,” the statement added, stressing that genuine energy reform should prioritise local refining before imposing levies that make imported fuel even more expensive.
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