Nigeria will not introduce fuel taxes until the economy stabilises and Nigerians' incomes rise enough to absorb the additional costs, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said. Oyedele made the announcement during an exclusive interview at the 2026 International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand. The government's immediate priority is to complete ongoing economic reforms, stabilise the economy and restore growth before implementing the taxes, he explained.
Oyedele said imposing taxes immediately after removing petrol subsidies would be counterproductive. "You remove subsidy, you can't immediately impose taxes. That would be insensitive. You push the people to the wall," he said. He acknowledged that fuel taxes are widespread globally, noting that between 20 to 80 per cent of fuel prices in other countries consist of taxes. Many African nations impose between six to 10 different taxes on petroleum products, he added. However, Nigeria must first stabilise its economy and improve household incomes before adopting a similar approach.
The minister emphasised that the real measure of affordability is not the price of goods but the income people earn. "The objective should be that whatever, instead of trying to suppress prices, which hasn't worked for us, it hasn't worked for any country in the world, but not one, instead of trying to suppress prices, think about how to grow income faster than prices rise," he said. The government's strategy under the President is to boost prosperity and expand the middle class by growing incomes rather than keeping prices artificially low.
When conditions improve, the fuel taxes will be introduced with a specific purpose, Oyedele said. Revenue generated would be directed towards infrastructure development and establishing fuel reserves to cushion the impact of future price shocks. He explained that this mechanism would allow the government to temporarily waive taxes during future petroleum market disruptions, a practice followed by more than 50 countries worldwide. "But those things will always happen, right? And then, it will become as a buffer, so that should there be anything next time, you can waive the taxes for that period to bring the stock up," he said.
The minister stressed that any fuel tax introduction would follow the legally required process and would not be implemented secretly. "The law says that tax cannot come into effect until there's a gazette. Yeah, there has to be an order published in the gazette by the finance minister, which means we can't do it in secret," Oyedele said. He added that when the taxes are introduced, the government will clearly explain to Nigerians why they are necessary and what benefits they will bring.