A bill
prescribing a levy of N5 per litre on any volume of petrol and diesel products
imported into Nigeria and on non-locally refined petroleum products is likely
to pass
the third reading at the senate and passed into law next week.
Under the
proposed law, end users (motorists/consumers) would pay N5 tax on every litre
of fuel they but at any fuel station.
If the bill
scales the hurdle, a litre of premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise called
petrol, which currently sells for N145 would increase to N150. The price hike
would also affect aviation fuel, diesel and kerosene.
The bill was
listed on the Order Paper, yesterday, but was stepped down at the last minute.
The report
of the bill titled, ‘National Road Fund’, was to be presented by the Senate
committee chairman on Works, Kabiru Gaya from Kano State.
In the bill,
the Senate is also proposing a 10 per cent 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 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 licence or other
fees pertaining to non-vehicular road usage along any federal road and
collected by the Federal Roads Agency.’
According to
the report, “the legislation, when passed, will contribute positively to the
economic growth of the nation and impact positively on the lives of Nigerians
and deliver a road sector that will be a model for other countries.”
The report
of the committee, a copy of which was obtained by Daily Sun, was signed by 15
senators with Gaya as chairman and Clifford Ordia as vice.
Others are
Mao Ohuabunwa, Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Biodun Olujimi, Ben Bruce, Gilbert Nnaji,
Abubakar Kyari, Ibrahim Danbaba, Mustapha Bukar, Ahmed Ogembe, Sani Mustapha
and Buruji Kashamu.
Meanwhile,
the Senate has suspended the consideration of a report of its Committee on
Works on a bill tagged, “National Roads Authority” 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.
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