Lifeblood of Nigeria’s Economy – Otunba Babatunde Olushola Senbanjo

By Otunba Babatunde Olushola Senbanjo (BOS)

The proposed 5% petrol consumption tax set to take effect in January 2026 is nothing short of an ill-timed, anti-people policy that threatens to worsen Nigeria’s already unbearable economic hardship. At a time when citizens are battling rising food prices, a weakened naira, high unemployment, and eroding purchasing power, it is insensitive and counterproductive for the government to add another layer of burden through a petrol levy.

Fuel is not a luxury commodity; it is the *lifeblood of Nigeria’s economy.* It powers transportation, small-scale businesses, agriculture, and essential services. By imposing an additional 5% levy — N500 on every N10,000 spent the government is effectively driving up the cost of living, increasing the price of goods and services across the board, and fueling further inflation. Analysts have rightly warned that transport costs will skyrocket, but the ripple effect goes beyond transportation: farmers will pay more to move their produce, traders will spend more to move goods, and manufacturers will face higher input costs all of which will be transferred to the final consumer.

Instead of imposing new taxes on struggling citizens, the government should focus on blocking revenue leakages, cutting wasteful expenditure, and improving tax collection from wealthy elites and multinational corporations that have historically evaded their obligations. Nigerians are already overtaxed and underserved. What justification is there for squeezing ordinary people further when essential services such as electricity, healthcare, education, and infrastructure remain grossly inadequate?

This policy risks becoming a double punishment: citizens pay more for fuel while still enduring epileptic power supply, forcing them to run generators which also depend on petrol. The ordinary Nigerian is left with no relief in sight.

We cannot continue to tax poverty. We cannot continue to balance government inefficiency on the backs of the poor. What Nigerians need is a government that promotes empowerment, job creation, industrial growth, and social safety nets not one that imposes punitive levies to make life harder.

The 2026 petrol consumption tax must be rejected in its entirety. True leadership is about reducing the burdens of the people, not multiplying them. Nigeria deserves policies that drive inclusive growth, not measures that push millions deeper into poverty.