Oyedele disclosed this during an interview with ARISE News on the sidelines of the 2026 International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
He explained that the government’s immediate priority was to consolidate its ongoing economic reforms, restore growth and improve household incomes before introducing additional taxes on petroleum products.
According to the minister, imposing fuel taxes shortly after the removal of petrol subsidy would have further increased the hardship faced by Nigerians.
“You remove subsidy, you can’t immediately impose taxes. That would be insensitive. You push the people to the wall,” he said.
Oyedele noted that fuel taxes constitute between 20 and 80 per cent of petroleum prices in some countries, while several African nations impose multiple levies on fuel products.
He said Nigeria could eventually adopt a similar approach, provided the timing was appropriate and the revenue generated was directed towards specific public infrastructure and strategic reserves.
The minister explained that the proposed taxes would help finance road infrastructure and the development of fuel reserves that could enable the government to respond to supply disruptions and moderate price volatility.
“Not because we want to impose taxes, it will be because those amounts of taxes will be dedicated into road infrastructure, they’ll be dedicated into building our fuel reserve, that can help us moderate prices of fuel products, if anything happens,” he said.
Oyedele added that the proposed framework could give the government the flexibility to reduce or temporarily suspend the levies when necessary to protect consumers from sudden increases in international oil prices or other market shocks.
He pointed out that more than 50 countries had reduced fuel taxes at different times to cushion the effects of rising prices, whereas Nigeria had limited scope for similar interventions because it did not previously have the same tax structure.
“This is what more than 50 countries around the world, they were reducing the taxes, but we had no taxes, there was nothing to reduce,” he said.
The minister also stressed that any decision to introduce the proposed levies would be subject to formal procedures and public disclosure.
“There has to be an order published in the gazette by the finance minister, which means we can’t do it in secret,” Oyedele stated.
He maintained that the government would not introduce the taxes until economic conditions improved sufficiently and citizens could better understand the policy’s objectives and potential benefits.
The proposal comes amid continuing debate over the consequences of petrol subsidy removal, which has contributed to higher transport and living costs for households and businesses.
While the government has defended its economic reforms as necessary to improve public finances and promote long-term growth, many Nigerians continue to call for measures to ease the pressure of rising prices.
Oyedele’s remarks suggest that the timing of any new fuel taxes would depend on economic recovery, improved household purchasing power and the establishment of a transparent system for allocating the revenue to infrastructure and fuel reserves.
