Last week, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave the nod for the implementation of a fresh 15 per cent import duty on petrol and diesel.
With the development, Nigerians will be left with no choice but to carry the burden when the policy takes full effect in the coming weeks.
This represents an approximately N99.72 per litre increment for imported petrol and diesel when the tariff is implemented.
According to Zacch Adedeji, the Executive Chief of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the move, which is targeted at protecting local refineries, would lead to imported petrol pump prices of an estimated N964.72 per litre in Lagos State, up from the current price of N925.
By implication, in Abuja and other parts of the country, petrol and diesel prices are expected to increase.
The policy decision has generated mixed reactions in the last five days.
However, Sunday Dare, a presidential spokesperson, explained that the policy is a bridge, not a burden, on Nigerians.