The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned that President Bola Tinubu’s planned implementation of fuel tax may be announced on inauguration day, if he’s re-elected, thereby pushing petrol prices beyond N1,500 per litre and worsening the already devastating cost-of-living crisis confronting millions of Nigerians.
The party was reacting to Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele’s disclosure on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, that the government would introduce the fuel tax when economic conditions improve.
Also, the ADC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) said the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) PCC, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, validated its position that the APC-led government “has failed to secure Nigeria and cannot offer credible solutions” to the country’s worsening security crisis.
However, a support group within the APC, BTO4PBAT, has warned that any reversal of the Federal Government’s fuel subsidy removal policy would plunge the country into another period of economic uncertainty.
The National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi,said the government’s real plan was to activate the tax law once Tinubu is re-elected.
“They have already enacted the law for a five per cent tax on fuel under the Nigeria Tax Act, and President Tinubu has signed it into law since June 2025. If they have not activated it yet, it is because of re-election. Once Tinubu is re-elected, he will announce the new tax law on the inauguration ground, just as he did for fuel subsidy in 2023,” Abdullahi said.
The party warned that at a petrol price of N1,450 per litre, a five per cent surcharge passed directly to consumers would raise the price to N1,522.50, with potentially devastating consequences for transportation, food distribution, small businesses and household expenditure.
ADC questioned the administration’s justification for the proposed tax, arguing that it would support road infrastructure and fuel price stabilisation, insisting that Nigerians deserve measurable improvements before being asked to shoulder further financial obligations.
The party urged Nigerians to embrace the fuel production subsidy being proposed by its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as the only way to bring down not only the cost of fuel, but also the cost of living generally.
THEADC-PCC was reacting to Yari’s reported statement: “If Buhari, who is a retired military man, could not wipe out insecurity, what can Tinubu do?”
The campaign council described the remark as a damning indictment of the APC government and a startling admission from a senior figure entrusted with selling Tinubu’s re-election bid to Nigerians.
ADC-PCC Director of Media and Publicity,Kola Ologbodiyan, said Yari’s statement raised fundamental questions about the APC’s capacity to address insecurity and the justification for seeking another presidential mandate when the party had yet to deliver on one of the most basic responsibilities of government: protecting citizens’ lives and property.
“For a party that has been in power for nearly 12 years, this is a shocking admission of failure. Rather than inspire confidence in Nigerians, the statement from the Director-General of the PCC reinforces the growing perception that the ruling party has run out of ideas and has no credible answers to the nation’s security challenges.
“After years of promises, Nigerians continue to grapple with banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and wanton killings. Communities remain vulnerable, families live in fear, and citizens are increasingly worried about the safety of their lives and livelihoods.”
It urged Nigerians to treat Yari’s reported remarks as a moment for sober reflection on the APC’s record and the consequences of another four years under the ruling party.
“Senator Yari’s statement has reinforced the very question Nigerians must ask before the next presidential election: if the APC cannot confidently explain how its candidate will secure the country, why should Nigerians entrust it with another four years?
“The choice before Nigerians is clear: continue with a party whose record on insecurity has attracted widespread criticism, or support a credible alternative committed to rescuing the country, restoring public confidence and making the protection of lives and property a national priority,” it added.
WITHthe group commending President Bola Tinubu for insisting on the reform as a necessary economic measure, it argued that Nigerians must not be allowed to return to the era of long queues at filling stations and fuel scarcity.
Director-General of the group, Adesuyi Adojutelegan, who stated this in Irele Local Council of Ondo State during a unit-to-unit campaign to mobilise grassroots support for Tinubu’s re-election, described the calls for the reversal of the policy as a recipe for economic crisis.
The campaign group, sponsored by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, emphasised that those advocating the return of fuel subsidy were driven by political considerations rather than a proper understanding of the policy’s
economic implications.
Adojutelegan maintained that the subsidy had placed considerable pressure on public finances and affected the ability of some state governments to meet their salary obligations before its removal.