Australia-based Nigerian publisher of 9News Nigeria and CEO of Nine Communications Nigeria Limited, Mr. Obinna Ejianya, has raised alarm over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s plan to impose an additional 5% tax on fuel, warning that such a policy would amount to the final decimation of Nigerians.
While acknowledging the President’s eagerness and resolute to solve Nigeria’s economic turmoil, Ejianya urged President Tinubu to seek alternative means to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians rather than worsening it. He stressed that restoring the fuel subsidy should have been a top priority, not an afterthought, given that every aspect of Nigeria’s economy depends heavily on fuel.
He cautioned that the imposition of a further tax on petrol would surely exacerbate the plight of citizens already gasping under hardship. Citing the destructive effect of the subsidy removal in 2023, which marked the beginning of Tinubu’s tenure, Ejianya said that any further increase in fuel prices would be tantamount to sending Nigerians to an early grave.
According to him, Nigerians are already dying from the unbearable cost of fuel following the subsidy removal, which triggered hyperinflation and sharp increases in the prices of goods and services. He noted that basic staples such as rice and other food items have skyrocketed—some rising as much as tenfold compared to prices just three years ago under former President Muhammadu Buhari. Many Nigerians thought Buhari’s government represented the worst economic hardship, only to face an even harsher reality under Tinubu.
Ejianya decried the abject poverty and severe economic distress across the country, warning that this has fueled widespread insecurity. He explained that desperation for survival has made otherwise law-abiding citizens susceptible to joining crime syndicates, while criminal kingpins exploit the economic hardship to recruit followers. This, he said, has directly contributed to the surge in kidnappings, armed robbery, scams, theft, human trafficking, organ harvesting, and wanton killings now ravaging Nigeria.
He warned that any further increase in fuel prices would drive hardship to unbearable levels and intensify insecurity, pushing Nigeria closer to the conditions of a war-torn nation. Ejianya also cited speculations that Tinubu’s administration is pushing the tax increment as part of conditions tied to international loans, but he described the move as ruthless and ill-conceived. He advised the government to pursue alternatives that would relieve suffering instead of worsening it through more loans and punitive taxation.
According to him, Nigerians are already in a near-death condition and need urgent economic resuscitation, not further decimation through bad policies. He added that loans are often taken without transparency or accountability, with little evidence of proper use, leaving no justification for placing additional burdens on Nigerians whose livelihoods are already collapsing. He insisted that Nigerians deserve far better than the destructive policies being proposed.
It will be recalled that in May 2025, Obinna Ejianya had earlier called on President Tinubu to restore the fuel subsidy as a necessary measure to cushion the hardship. In an interview with 9News Nigeria in Abuja, he stressed that reducing fuel prices was critical to stimulating the economy and providing relief to millions of citizens battered by the skyrocketing cost of living.
Independent economic projections back Ejianya’s concerns. Analysts estimate that a 5% fuel tax could add ₦40–₦60 per litre, raise transport fares by 5%–8%, and push inflation up by as much as 3 percentage points within months. Food and non-food items could climb another 1%–3%, while low-income households and small businesses would be hardest hit. A tricycle operator could incur ₦12,000–₦18,000 in extra monthly costs, while a commercial bus operator could face ₦48,000–₦72,000 more. Small businesses relying on generators may be forced to cut staff hours or shut down, adding pressure to an already fragile economy.
Ejianya, however, maintains that none of these scenarios is acceptable in the present climate of extreme hardship and insecurity. He reiterated that policy choices should prioritize saving lives and livelihoods by restoring affordability in energy and transport, strengthening transparency in public borrowing and spending, and adopting growth-friendly, people-centred alternatives instead of punitive levies that push Nigerians further into distress.
