President Bola Tinubu has given the green light for the implementation of a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel brought into Nigeria — a move expected to protect domestic refineries and promote stability in the downstream oil sector.

In a directive dated October 21, 2025 — made public on October 30 — Tinubu ordered the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to immediately begin enforcing the tariff. The decision, according to the government, forms part of a new “market-responsive import tariff framework.”

The letter, signed by the president’s private secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, confirmed Tinubu’s approval of a proposal submitted by FIRS Chairman Zacch Adedeji. The plan recommends a 15 per cent duty on the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of imported petrol and diesel to reflect true market conditions and encourage local production.

Adedeji explained in his memo that the initiative was designed to support Nigeria’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” for energy security and economic stability.

“The core objective of this initiative is to operationalize 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 cautioned that the disparity between locally refined fuel prices and import parity benchmarks has fueled market volatility.

“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.

He pointed out that import parity pricing often falls below cost recovery levels for domestic refiners, especially amid foreign exchange and freight fluctuations — a situation that threatens the viability of emerging local producers.

He added that the government now faces a “twofold” responsibility “to protect consumers and domestic producers from unfair pricing practices and collusion, while ensuring a level playing field for refiners to recover costs and attract investments.”

According to him, the new tariff system will prevent duty-free fuel imports from undermining local refineries and promote a fair, competitive downstream sector.

At current CIF levels, this represents an increment of approximately 99.72 per litre, which nudges imported landed costs toward local cost-recovery without choking supply or inflating consumer prices beyond sustainable thresholds. Even with this adjustment, estimated Lagos pump prices would remain in the range of N964.72 per litre ($0.62), still significantly below regional averages such as Senegal ($1.76 per litre), Cote d’Ivoire ($1.52 per litre), and Ghana ($1.37 per litre),” the letter read.

The decision aligns with Nigeria’s broader efforts to cut reliance on imported petroleum products and increase domestic refining output.

The 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lagos has begun producing diesel and aviation fuel, while modular refineries in Edo, Rivers, and Imo states are conducting small-scale petrol refining.

Despite these developments, imported petrol still meets around 67 per cent of Nigeria’s total consumption.

The United States dollar has crashed to its lowest in the official foreign exchange market against the naira

The British pound and the euro have also dropped in value as the naira continues its strong performance

The naira performance, according to Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, has attracted foreign exchange inflows

The Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed that the naira is now at its lowest level against the US dollar in 2025.

After trading activities at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) on Tuesday, October 26, the naira appreciated against the US dollar to close at N1,447/$.

The new exchange rate is a gain of N4.75 or 0.33% against the United States Dollar, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,453.07/$1.

The last time the naira traded below N1,450 was in 2024 before the introduction of the NFEM.

It was the same performance for the naira against the British pound sterling and the euro on Tuesday in the official market.

The naira strengthened against the pound sterling in the official market, gaining N27.07 to close at N1,919.45 per £1, up from Monday’s N1,946.52 per £1.

The Nigerian currency also rose by N4.91 against the euro, ending the session at N1,690.33 per €1, compared with the prior session’s N1,695.24 per €1.
At GTBank, the naira gained N3 against the US dollar, exchanging at N1,462 per $1, up from N1,465 per $1 recorded the previous day.

In the black market, BDC traders confirmed to Legit.ng that the naira also appreciated:

One of the traders, Musa Bashir of said:

“My brother, the market has changed. We no longer get dollars from CBN and less patrinage because of banks having dollars now.

The dollar buying rate has dropped to 1,463 and selling rate now at N1,475. Previously buying rate was N1,476, while the selling rate is N1,486.

It is the same for the euro sells at N1,715, and we buy at N1,700. The British pound sterling is now trading below N2,000, selling at N1,995, with a buying rate of N1,970.”

Naira appreciation comes at the back of liquidity into the official market from foreign sources, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other channels.

Its market update, Coronation Merchant Bank Limited revealed that the inflow to NFEM improved to $1.37 billion last week.

This suggests FX inflows in the official window increased by 25% week on week from $1.10 billion in the prior week.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained the dominant source, according to Coronation Research, contributing 33.5 per cent ($460.01 million) of total inflows, followed by exporters (14.9 per cent), Non-Bank Corporates (10.8 per cent), CBN (6.6 per cent), and other sources (28.6 per cent).

In a related development reported that the Bank of Tanzania officially banned the use of foreign currencies, including the dollar, for local transactions and payments within the country.

With the ban, all goods and services in Tanzania must now be priced and paid for strictly in Tanzanian Shillings.

In a public notice, the central bank announced that all goods and services in Tanzania must now be priced and paid for strictly in Tanzanian Shillings.

The House of Representatives has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to secure a $2.35 billion loan to help finance the 2025 budget deficit, despite growing concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile.

The House also granted approval for the issuance of a $500 million sovereign sukuk on the international capital market to support infrastructure development and broaden the country’s funding sources.

The lawmakers reached the decision after reviewing the report of the Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debt Management.

This development comes amid heightened debate regarding Nigeria’s escalating debt burden.

As of the first quarter of 2025, the nation’s total debt stood at ₦149.39 trillion, up from ₦121.7 trillion in the corresponding period of the previous year.

In September 2025, Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, warned that Nigeria’s debt levels had reached a critical point.

However, the Presidency has maintained that the current administration is borrowing responsibly.