PRESS STATEMENT
6th September, 2024.
CHARS-Africa CONDEMNS THE 5% FUEL SURCHARGE: A REGRESSIVE AND ANTI-PEOPLE’S TAX REGIME.
The Centre for Human Advancement and Resource Support (CHARS-Africa) strongly condemns the recently announced 5% surcharge on fossil fuel products, set to take effect from January 2026. Though deceptively presented as an “environmental” measure to wean Nigerians off oil dependency, this policy is a measure that will deepen economic inequality. It also undermines citizens’ rights as
A MISGUIDED POLICY AGAINST THE PEOPLE
Under the 2025 Tax Reform Act, Nigerians will be compelled to pay a 5% levy on fossil fuel products produced or provided locally, excluding household kerosene, cooking gas, compressed natural gas, and certain clean energy sources. The Federal Government frames this as a carbon-pricing mechanism, but in truth it shifts the burden of governance on the shoulders of ordinary Nigerians, especially the poor who rely on petrol for transportation – whether as a driver or a commuter, and electricity through small generators, especially for the artisans.
LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL BREACHES
1. Violation of Section 42, 1999 Constitution (as amended)
A flat tax rate imposed without regard to income levels is inherently discriminatory. The surcharge punishes the poor and small businesses far more than the wealthy, thereby breaching the constitutional right to equality.
2. Contradiction of Section 14(2)(b), 1999 Constitution
The Constitution is clear: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government.” Any fiscal measure that worsens hardship and diminishes citizens’ welfare runs foul of this fundamental obligation.
3. Failure of Transparency and Due Process (Sections 14(4) & 22, Constitution)
Democratic governance demands transparency and public consultation in policies that directly affect livelihoods. The surcharge was designed and announced without genuine public engagement, in breach of participatory governance principles enshrined in our Constitution.
4. Breach of Nigeria’s Social Contract
Nigerians, as citizens of an oil-producing nation, have long understood affordable fuel access as part of the unwritten social contract between government and the governed. The abrupt imposition of a 5% surcharge, without social safeguards or compensatory mechanisms, is a direct betrayal of this contract.
OUR STAND
This surcharge is not an environmental policy, but an economic exploitation under a green veil.
That Global best practices on subsidy reforms be implemented and that recommend social safety nets, such as transport vouchers, targeted cash transfers, or public transit improvements, to cushion vulnerable groups. Yet, the Nigerian government offers no such plan, preferring instead to siphon more revenue from already impoverished citizens.
OUR DEMANDS
CHARS-Africa calls on:
✓ The National Assembly to urgently review and amend the Tax Reform Act, removing or restructuring the surcharge into a progressive system that protects the poor.
✓ The Federal Government to suspend implementation until a transparent framework is published, showing how revenues will be reinvested into renewable energy, social protection, and public transport.
✓ Civil Society and Organized Labour to resist this anti-people policy and demand accountability, just as Nigerians did during the historic Occupy Nigeria protests of 2012.
CONCLUSION
The 5% fuel surcharge is unconstitutional, unjust, and unacceptable. CHARS-Africa will not stand by while Nigerians are forced into deeper poverty under the pretense of “green reform.”
The welfare of the people is the supreme law. Nigeria cannot tax its way to justice by trampling on the poor.
Signed:
Amaka Biachi Esq
Executive Director, CHARS-Africa
charsafrica.ng@gmail.com
