President Bola Tinubu has approved a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel as part of efforts to protect local refineries and stabilise Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.
The directive, contained in a letter dated October 21, 2025, and made public on Wednesday, was addressed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The document, signed by the President’s Private Secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, conveyed Tinubu’s approval following a proposal by the FIRS Executive Chairman, Zacch Adedeji.
Under the new policy, the 15 per cent duty will apply to the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of imported petrol and diesel.
The measure is expected to align import costs with domestic production realities, promote local refining, and support the administration’s energy security and fiscal reform agenda.
Adedeji, in his memo to the President, described the initiative as a key step towards strengthening the naira-based oil economy and ensuring a stable and affordable fuel supply nationwide.
“The core objective of this initiative is to operationalise crude transactions in local currency, strengthen local refining capacity, and ensure a stable, affordable supply of petroleum products across Nigeria,” Adedeji stated.
He warned that the persistent gap between domestic production costs and import parity pricing had created market instability, with local refiners struggling to compete against duty-free fuel imports.
“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,” he said.
According to projections in the FIRS proposal, the new 15 per cent duty could raise the landing cost of petrol by about ₦99.72 per litre.
Even so, average pump prices in Lagos are expected to remain around ₦964.72 per litre — still below regional averages such as Senegal ($1.76), Côte d’Ivoire ($1.52), and Ghana ($1.37) per litre.
The policy forms part of the government’s broader strategy to reduce reliance on imported fuel and encourage investment in local refining.
The 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery has commenced diesel and aviation fuel production, while modular refineries in Edo, Rivers, and Imo states have also begun limited petrol refining.
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Despite these advances, petrol imports still account for roughly 67 per cent of national demand.
