Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a 15 percent import duty on diesel and petrol — a decision expected to trigger an increase in the pump price of petrol across the country.
According to The Guardian, the approval was communicated in a letter dated October 21, 2025, in which Damilotun Aderemi, the President’s Private Secretary, conveyed Tinubu’s directive to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The implementation of the new import duty is projected to raise the price of petrol by an estimated ₦99.72 per litre.
Tinubu’s approval followed a request from the FIRS to apply the 15 percent duty on the Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value of petroleum imports to better align import costs with domestic market realities.
In a related development, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced the commencement of a detailed review of the country’s three refineries to restore them to full operation.
The NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday night, noting that the company is considering engaging technical equity partners to “high-grade or repurpose” the facilities.
“The NNPCL continues to remain optimistic that the refineries will operate efficiently, despite current setbacks,” Ojulari said.
Despite the Federal Government’s earlier investment of about $3 billion in refinery rehabilitation, the facilities have largely remained non-functional. Only a 60,000-barrel-per-day segment of one refinery operated briefly before shutting down.
The Warri refinery has failed to sustain production weeks after its supposed restart, while the Kaduna refinery is yet to begin operations at all.