CAPPA Hails Nigeria’s Health Tax Policy

Posted by Ignatius Okpara Uncategorized Monday, September 8th, 2025

… Again, Calls For Higher Custom Duty connected Sugary Drinks

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) — The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has commended the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led national Government’s determination to make a draught argumentation that volition earmark revenues from excise taxes connected alcohol, tobacco, and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) for wellness financing.

It described the inaugural arsenic a decisive accidental for the medication to permission a bequest of sustainable backing for Nigeria’s fragile healthcare strategy and to support the wellness of Nigerian citizens.

Speaking astatine a caller nationalist health-financing dialog successful Abuja, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, disclosed that the Federal Government is finalising a draught argumentation to transmission excise-tax revenues from alcohol, tobacco, and sugary drinks into wellness financing. 

According to him, the argumentation volition soon beryllium submitted to the Minister of Health and Social Welfare.

The commendation is contained successful a connection made disposable to newsmen connected Monday by Robert Egbe, Media and Communication Officer, (CAPPA).

Responding to the disclosure successful a connection made disposable to newsmen connected Monday, by Robert Egbe,

Media and Communication Officer, (CAPPA), referenced section and World Health Organisation (WHO) reports showing that Nigeria is reeling from grossly inadequate nationalist wellness financing and grappling with the treble load of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The improvement is fuelled by the excessive depletion of sugar-laden beverages, salt, baccy and intoxicant by citizens, adding “these deceases were liable for astir 30 per cent of each deaths successful the country, making the concern a nationalist wellness emergency. 

“By initiating the draught policy, the FG has demonstrated committedness towards tackling the upsurge of NCDs successful the country, CAPPA said.

The enactment urged the authorities to instrumentality broad action, not lone by earmarking SIN Taxes but besides by adopting the recommendations of the WHO and CAPPA to marque the taxes effective.

“This would impact benchmarking them connected rates precocious capable to trim consumption, promote merchandise reformulation, and yet easiness the country’s wellness burden.

“The WHO had precocious advised Nigeria and different subordinate states to rise the prices of sugary drinks, alcohol, and baccy by 50 percent done taxation implicit the adjacent decade, arsenic a means of curbing NCDs.

It stated that “the organisation expressed assurance that specified measures would chopped depletion of these harmful products, which lend to illnesses specified arsenic diabetes and cancer, portion besides generating captious gross for nationalist health. 

“The telephone was portion of its “3 by 35 Initiative,” a planetary effort, which, according to the WHO, comes astatine a clip erstwhile wellness systems are nether immense strain from rising NCDs, shrinking improvement aid, and mounting nationalist debt. 

“NCDs, including bosom disease, cancer, and diabetes, relationship for implicit 75 percent of each deaths worldwide, and, according to the WHO, a one-time 50 percent terms summation connected these products could forestall 50 cardinal premature deaths implicit the adjacent 50 years.

The connection said “Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of CAPPA, applauded t...