The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) said that the federal government’s quick decision to lower import duties was a smart step to help Nigerians deal with the high cost of living in the wake of the ongoing Persian Gulf crisis.
TMSG, whose Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo signed a statement, said that the new fiscal policy measures were preferable than bringing back the fuel subsidy.
It said, “At the start of the tensions in the Middle East that caused the price of crude oil to rise and the cost of living to rise, many analysts urged the President Bola Tinubu administration to think about bringing back fuel subsidies.”
“Others, like the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), wanted the extra money that would come from higher crude prices to be used to give state officials raises and bonuses.
“But the federal government’s decision to put in place new fiscal policy measures to lower import duties on a wide range of goods and services starting on April 1, 2026, shows that the authorities are taking a more strategic approach rather than knee-jerk actions that will undo the progress made by ongoing economic reforms.”
“A quick look at the policy measures shows that they are great steps to lower the cost of living without undoing the progress made by the two main policies: removing subsidies and creating harmonized forex transaction windows.”
The group talked about some of the things that might be affected by the new tax policies.
“To be clear, the new fiscal policy framework includes, among other things, a big drop in tariffs on 127 commodities, an Import Adjustment Tax (IAT) on 192 tariff lines, and a list of 17 items that can’t be imported from non-ECOWAS nations.
The government has lowered import taxes on fully-built passenger automobiles, four-wheel drive cars, and station wagons from 70% to 40%.
“We know that taxes on food imports have also changed a lot. For example, the charge on bulk rice has gone down from 70% to 47.5%, and the duty on broken rice has gone down from 30% to 30%. The rate for importing crude palm oil is now set at 28.75 percent, and the rate for importing raw sugar is between 55 and 57.5 percent. The amount of refined salt that people can eat has been changed to 55 percent.
“Also, the duties on some industrial and home items have gone down. For example, envelopes now have a 40% duty instead of the previous 50%, and notebooks have a 30% charge. The prices of ceramic tiles have also changed. Unglazed tiles are now 35% off, while glazed tiles are now 46.25% off.
“We also know that the new fiscal policy framework added new taxes and protections to help local businesses and the economy develop.
“We understand that this could have an effect on local production, but we want Nigerians to know that opening the national economy to competition from global products could also make domestic producers more efficient, which would ultimately benefit consumers by lowering prices and improving the quality of production.
“We do agree with Mr. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, that lowering tariffs on some key inputs for local industries would help local production a lot and protect Nigeria from global shocks like the one it is currently going through after the Middle East crisis.
TMSG added, “It is safe to say that these are deliberate steps meant to protect the economy and the people, and not necessarily to hurt businesses in the country.”
The organization told Nigerians that the Federal Government would keep its promise to improve the lives and wellbeing of all Nigerians, regardless of their religion, race, creed, or political beliefs.
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