Delta APC chieftain and billionaire businessman, Chief Ayiri Emami, has come to the defence of President Bola Tinubu while taking aim at the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over its proposed 15 per cent import duty on petrol and diesel.
Speaking in Abuja, Emami described the policy though approved by the President as poorly timed and likely to deepen the economic hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians.
The FIRS has claimed the tariff would help protect local refineries, strengthen the downstream oil sector, and encourage the use of the naira in crude oil transactions. However, Emami, who leads the A & E Group, argued that the move would only drive up fuel prices and worsen living conditions for the public. “Any tax on fuel eventually falls on the people. Nigerians are already hungry and struggling,” he said.
He called on President Tinubu to put the policy on hold until more measures are in place to ease the burden on citizens. Emami noted that rural and riverine communities, especially those dependent on fishing and transport, are already suffering from high fuel costs. “Buying fuel determines whether you can even go out to fish. The fish are still there we just can’t afford to reach them,” he lamented.
While emphasizing that Tinubu’s intentions were sincere, Emami suggested that some of the President’s advisers and agencies might be misleading him. “There are people who don’t care about the President or the masses; they just want to create more problems,” he added.
The 15 per cent import duty, approved on October 21, 2025, is expected to push petrol prices in Lagos to nearly ₦964 per litre, according to government projections.
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