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ABUJA – Advocates for public health are pressing Nigeria’s government to sharply raise the levy on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), citing the nation’s mounting non-communicable disease (NCD) burden and missed economic opportunities. At a recent media roundtable in the capital, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) Executive Director Akinbode Oluwafemi warned that Nigeria is in “the midst of a public health crisis, a ticking time bomb” fueled by sweetened drinks. The group reiterated its call to increase the current SSB excise from the meagre ₦10 per litre set in 2021 to at least ₦130 per litre – a levy designed to raise drink prices by roughly 20–50%, in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for effective health taxes.
Oluwafemi and other experts laid out the health rationale in stark terms. He described carbonated soft drinks as “killing us slowly, turning our streets into graveyards and our hospitals into crowded waiting rooms,” and said evidence links them to an “explosive rise” in diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease and obesity. Once rare in Nigeria, these NCDs have become widespread: according to WHO estimates, they now account for roughly one-third of all deaths in the country. Families, he noted, often exhaust their savings – even selling land – to care for sick relatives. As one CAPPA report summarized, a stronger SSB tax “will save lives, ease pressure on our fragile health system, and generate much-needed revenue”.
From a business and fiscal perspective, CAPPA pointed to the revenue shortfall of the current low tax. Even as sugary drinks stay cheap on shop shelves, their health costs are enormous. A CAPPA analysis highlighted that Nigeria is forfeiting over ₦200 billion in potential annual revenue due to gaps in tax implementation. These funds, the group argues, could be earmarked for healthcare – supporting the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, national insurance programs and school feeding – without hiking broad taxes. By contrast, consumers already spend an estimated ₦1.92 trillion each year treating preventable illnesses linked to diet. CAPPA and allied economists like Austin Iraoya note that well-designed SSB taxes correct market failures by incorporating these hidden costs into prices and incentivizing healthier product reformulation.
Experts also stressed that Nigeria would not be acting alone. Countries including Mexico, South Africa and the United Kingdom have enacted much higher soda taxes and seen consumption drop without harming the beverage industry. “In South Africa, the sector remained stable and jobs were protected,” CAPPA noted, as manufacturers reformulated products rather than cut staff. Oluwafemi urged the Nigerian government to adopt a similarly ambitious approach. Specifically, CAPPA is calling for a tax increase sufficient to lift retail prices by at least 20–30% (ideally 50%), which equates to roughly ₦130 per litre or more.
In addition to a higher rate, CAPPA recommended policy safeguards and transparency. Measures like mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labeling and annual public reporting by revenue, customs and health authorities would help ensure the tax is applied fairly and its proceeds properly spent. If implemented, proponents say the enhanced SSB tax would curb sugar consumption, reduce new NCD cases and free resources to improve public health and education – effectively linking health policy with economic gains. .
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