EXCLUSIVE: Tinubu Government Approves 15% Fuel Import Duty, Moves To Give Dangote Refinery Advantage Over Independent Marketers

The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government has approved a new 15% import duty on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) and diesel, SaharaReporters can authoritatively report. 

This move by the Tinubu presidency contained in a restricted memo obtained by SaharaReporters on Thursday morning, is what stakeholders said is actually designed to give billionaire, Aliko Dangote’s Lagos refinery a sweeping advantage over independent fuel importers.

The memorandum dated October 21, 2025, with reference number PRES8197/HAGF/100/71/FIRS/40/88-2/NMDPRA/2, was circulated from the State House to the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

The memo, signed by Damilotun Aderemi, the Private Secretary to the President, conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s approval for a new “market-responsive import tariff framework” on petrol and diesel imports.

But sources told SaharaReporters that behind the official justification lies a larger scheme: to lock out independent marketers and grant the Dangote Refinery near-total control over Nigeria’s downstream petroleum supply.

According to the memo, the 15% import duty, assessed on the Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value of imported petrol and diesel, is aimed at “reinforcing national energy security” and “protecting local refiners.” 

The Tinubu government, on the surface, claims the move will “stabilise the downstream market” and “align import costs with domestic realities.” 

At current CIF levels, the memo projects that the new tariff will add ₦99.72 per litre to the landing cost of imported petrol, pushing the average Lagos pump price to ₦964.72 per litre ($0.62), which officials argue remains “below regional averages.”

Sources privy to the situation, however, told SaharaReporters that the real motive is not price stabilisation but market capture.

The sources added that the new tariff would not apply to Dangote Refinery, which the Tinubu administration has classified as part of an Export Processing Zone (EPZ).

This EPZ classification allows Dangote to import crude and export refined products tax-free, while other marketers must now pay the 15% duty, a 7.5% VAT, and an existing 5% petroleum consumption tax — totalling over 30% in levies.

“This memo reveals plans to uplift Dangote refinery to the detriment of others. Currently, Dangote has 18 million litres and marketers are importing 32million liters of fuel to cater to domestic needs. 

"Tinubu's Lebanese ally, Gilbert Chagoury is putting pressure so that Dangote now has to import 40 million litres. Zack wrote this memo. There is already 5% petroleum consumption tax. To impose a 15% import duty, a 7.5% VAT rate would yield a 30% total. N930+N270. Dangote to import the rest," one of the top sources revealed. 

"Dangote Refinery will be exempt because of a deal between FIRS, they claim Dangote’s refinery is export processing zone, so he will be able import the rest. This is N14 billion daily. The tax bill is to take effect next year, but this one by Tinubu has an immediate effect,” the source said. 

The proposed tariff will also yield an estimated ₦14 billion daily in new taxes, funds that will flow into a designated FGN revenue account supervised by FIRS, now renamed Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS). 

However, economists warn the move could further worsen fuel inflation and trigger black-market hoarding, especially if marketers withdraw from the supply chain.

“It’s ironic that a government claiming to promote competition is imposing taxes that benefit only one refinery,” said a senior industry economist who reviewed the memo for SaharaReporters. “Once Dangote controls supply, he sets the price. That’s monopoly, not reform.”

When SaharaReporters contacted the Dangote Group for comment, an official who spoke anonymously dismissed the allegations as “rubbish.”

“This allegation is rubbish and not true,” the Dangote official said. “How can we be importing what we are producing massively? These are the handworks of people who don’t want this project to work. There is nowhere the government mentioned Dangote in their memo. We have nothing to do with it.”