The Obidient Movement has strongly opposed the Federal Government’s proposed five per cent surcharge on fuel, warning that it would further impoverish Nigerians.
The protest follows an announcement by the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, who stated that the levy is part of President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform agenda. According to Oyedele, the surcharge is designed to improve road infrastructure and reduce logistics costs.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its National Coordinator, Yunusa Tanko, the group condemned the policy, describing it as a pathway to greater hardship for ordinary citizens.
“For decades, Nigerians have been fed the same promises: new levies will ‘fix our roads,’ ‘power our hospitals,’ and ‘transform our economy.’ Instead, trillions vanish into the pockets of corrupt elites while our highways crumble, transport costs skyrocket, and ordinary Nigerians are pushed deeper into poverty,” the statement read.
Tanko stressed that fueling is a basic necessity, not a luxury, and argued that the proposed surcharge would unfairly burden the poor and vulnerable.
He urged the government to broaden the tax base instead of targeting essential commodities. According to him, progressive taxes on luxury consumption, combined with a clampdown on wasteful government spending, would generate revenue without worsening the suffering of average Nigerians.
“The Obidient Movement insists that no new fuel taxes should be imposed until credible and transparent mechanisms are put in place to ensure accountability, anti-corruption safeguards, and real relief for suffering citizens.
“We want good roads, reliable infrastructure, and a strong economy. But these goals cannot and must not be pursued on the backs of already impoverished Nigerians. Until transparency, equity, and fairness guide our fiscal policies, we reject this 5% surcharge as yet another instrument of oppression against the people,” the statement concluded.
