Prince Adewole Adebayo, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu’s recent approval of a 15 per cent import duty on refined petroleum products, warning that the government’s appetite for taxation knows no bounds.
Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, Adebayo accused the president of prioritising revenue collection over the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.
“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,” Adebayo said.
The former presidential candidate described the newly approved import duty as unjust and a betrayal of the principles Tinubu once championed during his opposition days.
“It is an anti-people decision and a trend in the new Tinubu,” he said. “Tinubu that 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.”
Adebayo warned that the policy would deepen the economic hardship faced by millions of Nigerians already struggling with the rising cost of living.
“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,” he said.
The SDP leader questioned the rationale behind continuing to import fuel whilst the country’s refineries remain dormant despite billions of naira spent on their rehabilitation.
“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?” he asked.
Adebayo urged President Tinubu to focus on repairing the nation’s refineries rather than imposing additional taxes on an already burdened population.
“Call Heineken Lokpobiri and Bayo Ojulari and say, ‘I want those refineries to work in six months.’ Reduce importation to zero,” he advised.
Whilst the federal government has defended the new tariff as necessary to protect local refineries and stabilise the downstream petroleum sector, critics like Adebayo argue that such measures amount to placing the cart before the horse.
