Nigeria losing over N200b from SSB tax yearly – CAPPA

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has condemned the loss of over N200 billion annually due to gaps in the implementation of the sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) tax.

CAPPA’s Executive Director, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, who spoke on Tuesday during a media roundtable on the SSB tax, remarked that the funds could directly support Nigeria’s goal of increased healthcare financing, including the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, the National Health Insurance Authority, and school feeding programmes — helping to build a healthier and more equitable society.

Stressing the need to discourage excessive consumption of SSBs, reduce public addiction to sugary drinks, and stem the rising tide of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among Nigerians, he called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to fulfil his campaign promises of implementing consumption taxes to deter behaviour that undermines individual and community health.

Oluwafemi urged the authorities to increase the SSB tax from ₦10 per litre to at least ₦130 per litre to reduce consumption and encourage manufacturers to reformulate their products.

He noted that the President has a clear opportunity to strengthen the SSB tax and ensure its transparent implementation as part of his duty to protect the health and future of all Nigerians.

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Oluwafemi insisted that Nigeria is in the midst of a public health crisis, a ticking time bomb driven by the excessive consumption of unhealthy diets, particularly SSBs. 

He said, “These sugar-sweetened beverages, popularly known as soft drinks and their likes, are killing us slowly, turning our streets into graveyards and our hospitals into crowded waiting rooms. According to scientific and medical evidence, they are directly fueling the explosive rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including the slump and die trend we are currently witnessing across various parts of the country.

“Not too long ago, conditions like diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart diseases, and obesity were all rare and described as afflictions of big men and women. Today, they are snatching our fathers, crippling our mothers, sending young people to early graves, and draining the life savings of entire families. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), NCDs now account for 1 in 3 deaths in Nigeria.

“They are no longer the diseases of the rich or the elderly; they are aggressively decimating our workforce, destabilising our families, and undermining national productivity.

“Families are forced to sell land, liquidate lifelong savings, and descend into absolute poverty in desperate bids to save loved ones. Mothers who should be growing small businesses or mentoring children are instead chained to hospital wards as unpaid, invisible caregivers.”

He contended that a more robust SSB tax would reduce the consumption of sugar-laden drinks, lower the incidence of preventable illnesses, and improve national health outcomes, while also offering a practical way to expand Nigeria’s fiscal space without increasing broad-based taxes.

He emphasised the need to mandate transparent front-of-pack labelling on all food and beverage products, enabling Nigerians to know what they consume. This, he added, would require annual public reporting by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigeria Customs Service, and the Ministries of Finance and Health to ensure accountability.