An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Delta State, Ayiri Emami, has expressed concern over the implementation of a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel brought into the country.
LEADERSHIP reports that President Bola Tinubu approved the tariff in a letter dated October 21, 2025, and signed by Damilotun Aderemi, the private secretary to the president.
The letter, addressed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), conveyed the president’s approval for the new tariff.
According to the correspondence, the decision followed a request by FIRS to apply the 15 per cent duty on the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of the imported products. The move, FIRS explained, was intended to “align import costs with domestic economic realities.”
In an interview with journalists in Abuja, the APC chieftain who is the chairman and chief executive officer of A&E group, a company with investments in oil and gas, construction and haulage, said the tariff would hurt ordinary Nigerians and not marketers.
Ayiri pleaded with President Tinubu to keep aside the 15 percent import duty tariff on fuel until the government provides more relief to Nigerians.
“No, anybody advising Mr President to impose a 15 percent tax on petroleum right now is not doing him any good. This kind of policy will not hurt marketers — it will hurt ordinary Nigerians. Whatever tax you put on petroleum goes straight back to the people on the streets. Nigerians are already hungry and struggling.
“If I were to meet Mr. President, I would tell him plainly — and I’ve told people in my community the same thing. You see, in my area, especially among those of us who live by the river and depend on fishing, the cost of fuel affects everything. When you buy fuel, it determines whether you can even go out to fish. It’s not that the fish are gone — it’s that we can’t afford to reach them anymore.
“So anybody bringing up this idea of 15 percent tax, I will not support it. This is my government, and I know we need money, but there are other areas to look into. Whatever you do in petroleum pricing always goes back to the masses.
“For me, that 15 percent should be kept aside until the government provides more relief to Nigerians. Things are still hard. So why add another burden? Some people don’t care about Mr. President or what he’s going through — they just want to create more problems. Those are my honest opinions on the matter,” he said.
