The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced that the proposed 15 percent ad-valorem import duty on petrol (Premium Motor Spirit – PMS) and diesel will no longer be implemented. The decision was declared on Thursday by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in a statement signed by its Director of Public Affairs.
The import duty, which was approved by Bola Tinubu in late October 2025, was to impose a 15 % levy on the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of imported petrol and diesel. It formed part of an energy-sector fiscal reform aimed at raising non-oil revenue and supporting domestic refining capacity in the country.
Earlier this year, Nigeria moved to accelerate production at its local refiners, including the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, as part of its energy security agenda. The import duty measure was positioned as an incentive to shift reliance from imports toward domestic refining. But it drew strong opposition from stakeholders in the oil and gas sector who warned it could lead to higher fuel retail prices, inflate inflationary pressures, and disrupt supply chains if implemented prematurely.
In the NMDPRA statement issued on Thursday, the regulator said that it has “robust domestic supply of petroleum products (AGO, PMS, LPG, etc.), sourced from both local refineries and importation to ensure timely replenishment of stocks at storage depots and retail stations during this peak demand period.” The authority further advised against hoarding, panic buying, or non-market reflective escalation of fuel prices.
A background of the measure reveals that in October 2025, President Tinubu approved the new policy following a memo from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which proposed the import duty to strengthen the naira-based oil economy, ensure price stability, and promote the use of fuels from local refining capacity. The policy was intended to come into effect in December 2025. However, within weeks of the policy approval, fuel importers and marketers raised alarms. They said the 15 % duty could raise the pump price of petrol and diesel and make Nigeria overly dependent on one refinery source while import volumes fell.
With these concerns mounting and the year-end peak demand period approaching, the government opted to suspend the implementation. The NMDPRA emphasised it will continue to monitor the supply situation and take regulatory action where necessary to avert disruptions in the downstream value chain. 
The suspension of the duty marks a retreat from the earlier policy stance and signals that while the fiscal and energy reforms remain critical, the timing of implementation must take into account the vulnerabilities in supply and potential socio-economic impact. Sources within the downstream sector noted that the move has eased immediate cost pressures for fuel importers and may relieve some inflationary burdens for consumers.
Samuel Aina