…N5 to be paid on every litre of fuel bought

…Road travelers to pay toll charge

From: FRED ITUA, Abuja

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A bill, likely to be passed into law next week, by the Senate, has recommended a levy of N5 chargeable per litre on any volume of petrol and diesel products imported into Nigeria and on non-locally refined petroleum products.

The import of the proposed charge is that, end users (motorists) will pay N5 tax on every litre of fuel bought at any fuel station.

The bill was listed on the Order Paper, on Thursday, but was stepped down at the last minute. The bill is titled National Road Fund and was to be presented by the Senate committee chairman on Works, Senator Kabiru Gaya from Kano State.

In the bill, the Senate is also proposing that toll fees not exceeding 10 per cent of any revenue paid as user charge per vehicle on any federal road designated as a toll road. The payment is not applicable to roads under the Public Private Partnership arrangement.

The Red Chamber, as part of its recommendations, is proposing that there should be an “inter-state mass transit user charge of 0.5 per cent deductible from fares paid by passengers to commercial mass transit operators on inter-state roads.

“There shall be a road fund charge of 0.5 per cent on the assessed value of any vehicle imported at any time into Nigeria. There shall be lease, license or other fees which shall be 10 per cent of the revenue accruing from lease or license or other fees pertaining to non-vehicular road usage along any federal road and collected by the Federal Roads Agency.”

The report of the committee, a copy of which was obtained by Daily Sun, was signed by fifteen senators. They are Senators Gaya (chairman), Clifford Ordia (vice chairman), Mao Ohuabunwa (member), Bukar Abba Ibrahim (member), Biodun Olujimi (member) and Ben Bruce (member).

Others are senators Gilbert Nnaji (member), Abubakar Kyari (member) Ibrahim Danbaba (member), Mustapha Bukar (member), Ahmed Ogembe (member), Sani Mustapha and Buruji Kashamu (member).

Meanwhile, the Senate has suspended the consideration of a report of its committee on Works on a bill tagged National Roads Authority.

The Senate suspended the consideration of the report, over the inability of lawmakers to reconcile their differences on certain grey areas.

Following the suspension, the Senate has mandated the committee to do a more thorough job, by accommodating all the divergent views expressed by lawmakers.