Fuel, Diesel prices may increase as FG, Reps push for 5% road user charge implementation

 The prices of premium motor spirit (petrol) and automotive gas oil (diesel) may rise as the Federal Ministry of Works and the House of Representatives move to enforce a five percent road user charge to be included in fuel and diesel pricing.

 

This was revealed during an investigative hearing of the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee in Abuja. According to the Minister of State for Works, Mohammed Goroyo, the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority must urgently begin collecting the five percent road user charge to address the significant funding gap in maintaining the country’s federal road network.

Goroyo explained that Nigeria requires about N800 billion annually to maintain its roads. However, allocations to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency have fallen significantly short of this need. 

In his words: “FERMA requires an estimated N880 billion annually for optimal road conditions. Budgetary allocations have consistently fallen short—N76.3 billion in 2023, N103.3 billion in 2024, and N168.9 billion in 2025. The consequences of this are glaring—deteriorating road conditions, increased repair costs, and prolonged disruptions for commuters and businesses alike. Thus, the diligent implementation and timely remittance of the five percent user charge are paramount.”

 

Chukwuemeka Abbasi, the Managing Director of FERMA, stated that the regulatory agency has failed to implement the deduction of the user charge from petroleum product prices, despite the mandate. He emphasised that the charge, outlined in the FERMA Act, was intended to provide a sustainable funding model for maintaining and rehabilitating roads, but has remained unutilized due to persistent funding shortages.

 

 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, recalled that on March 19, the House debated a motion revealing that the five percent road user charge—meant for road maintenance under the FERMA Amendment Act of 2007—had not been implemented. 

 

 

The chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Francis Waive, who also heads the House Committee on Rules and Business, clarified that enforcing the road user charge is not an attempt to increase fuel prices or change the law, since the provision has existed since 2007. He added that the committee’s goal is to correct the neglect of existing laws and ensure that government agencies and individuals comply with all legislative mandates.

 

 

This development comes at a time when Nigerians have recently experienced a slight reduction in fuel prices. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets, along with Dangote Refinery and its partners, recently lowered petrol prices to N875 and N895 per litre in Lagos and Abuja, respectively.