President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on diesel and premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol.
The approval was contained in a letter dated October 21, 2025, in which the President’s Private Secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, communicated the directive to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
According to the letter, the decision followed a request from the FIRS to apply the 15 per cent duty on the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of imports, a move aimed at aligning import costs with domestic economic realities.
With the approval, the implementation of the new import duty is projected to push the pump price of petrol up by about N99.72 per litre.
Following the development, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced that it has begun a detailed review of the country’s three state-owned refineries with the goal of bringing them back to efficient operation.
In a post titled "Update on Our Refineries" shared on his official X handle on Wednesday night, NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, said the company remains committed to ensuring that the refineries return to full productivity despite recent challenges.
Ojulari revealed that one of the approaches being considered is partnering with technical equity investors to "high-grade or repurpose" the facilities.
"The NNPCL continues to remain optimistic that the refineries will operate efficiently, despite current setbacks," he said.
Nigeria’s refineries, located in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna, have long struggled to operate optimally despite several multi-billion-dollar rehabilitation efforts.
It will be recalled that the federal government has spent nearly $3 billion on refinery revamps over the years. Yet, only the 60,000 barrels-per-day section of one of the plants managed limited operations for a few months before shutting down again.
The Warri refinery, which was recently celebrated for resuming production, has since remained inactive, while the Kaduna refinery never commenced operations.
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