Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has warned that the federal government’s new 5 percent tax on petrol and diesel could further plunge millions of Nigerians into poverty.
Obi said the measure disregards the harsh realities citizens face, from soaring food and transport costs to stagnant wages. He stressed that rather than relief, Nigerians are being handed fresh burdens that could push many households over the edge.
In his reaction posted on X, Obi said the government should have delayed the fuel tax until there were visible improvements in education, healthcare and infrastructure that would justify it.
“Nigerians will pay a 5% tax when buying their everyday fuel or diesel at a time when millions can hardly even afford the cost of transportation,” he said. “Mr. President just yesterday boasted that Nigeria has met its revenue target for the year. Yet instead of easing hardship, the government imposes more burden on Nigerians.”
Obi added that the government’s much-advertised shift to compressed natural gas (CNG) as a cheaper alternative had also failed.
“Even the so-called alternative, CNG, has become unaffordable, rising from about N230 to N450, while the promised subsidies on the CNG have quietly vanished,” he said.
He argued that government revenue should first be applied to social welfare. “If our revenues are truly ‘excessive’ as claimed, should they not first be used to fund education, healthcare, and pulling Nigerians out of poverty? Why tax citizens who cannot even breathe anymore?” he asked.
According to Obi, leadership is about compassion and care for the people, not compounding their daily struggles through ill-timed economic measures.