President Bola Tinubu has approved the imposition of a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel imports into Nigeria. The move, aimed at safeguarding local refineries and stabilising the downstream oil market, is expected to trigger a rise in pump prices nationwide. According to a letter dated October 21, 2025 — made public on October 30, 2025 — and addressed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the President directed the immediate enforcement of the new tariff under what the government described as a “market-responsive import tariff framework.” The directive, conveyed through a letter signed by his Private Secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, followed a proposal submitted by the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Zacch Adedeji. The proposal recommended a 15 per cent duty on the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of imported petrol and diesel to reflect prevailing domestic market conditions. In his memo to the President, Adedeji noted that the initiative was part of the administration’s broader reforms to encourage local refining, promote price stability, and strengthen Nigeria’s naira-based oil economy in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda for energy security and fiscal sustainability. “The core objective of this initiative is to operationalise crude transactions in local currency, strengthen local refining capacity, and ensure a stable, affordable supply of petroleum products across Nigeria,” Adedeji stated. The FIRS boss also warned that the current misalignment between locally refined products and import parity pricing has created instability in the market. “While domestic refining of petrol has begun to increase and diesel sufficiency has been achieved, price instability persists, partly due to the misalignment between local refiners and marketers,” he wrote.