The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, on Thursday slammed President Bola Tinubu’s approval of a 15 per cent import duty on refined petroleum products.
Adebayo, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today program, accused President Tinubu of excessive taxation, saying the administration’s approach was exploitative.
He described the import duty as unjust and inconsistent with the ideals Tinubu once championed, adding that the new tariff would further burden Nigerians, who are already facing harsh economic conditions.
Adebayo faulted Tinubu’s decision, blaming the government for its failure to make Nigeria’s refineries functional, arguing that the president should focus on fixing refineries rather than imposing more taxes.
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He said, “President Tinubu is a clever tax collector. He wants to collect taxes from you for everything, including the oxygen tax, very soon. If you’re not careful, yes, the air we breathe. Just give him time; he’s going to get there.”
“It is an anti-people decision and a trend in the new Tinubu. Tinubu, who used to be in SDP, following Abiola everywhere doing Hope 93, has practically changed to the side of the money people.
“They see you as a customer, not a citizen. If you have twins and triplets in your house, Tinubu is going to think of the twins tax or ‘multiple childbirth tax.’ He’s just thinking of how to collect more money. It’s wrong.
“If you put 15 per cent tariffs on imported petrol, who is going to pay for it? It’s going to be paid by the person who buys the petrol at the filling station.
“You are the reason why we cannot meet our domestic consumption. The president is the Minister of Petroleum. What kind of chaotic system is this?
“For example, we gave you refineries to manage. You appointed yourself Minister of Petroleum. We spent billions on turnaround maintenance. You are not making the refineries work.
“You are the reason why we are importing now. Because you are importing, you went from ‘I’m not paying subsidy, we are net zero, nobody pays subsidy’, you now want to surcharge me for your inefficiency. Am I the reason why refineries are not working?
“What he needs to do is to call Heineken Lokpobiri and Bayo Ojulari and say, ‘I want those refineries to work. I give you six months, and I want fuel importation reduced to zero.’”
