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- Proposes amendment to channel excise duty into preventive healthcare
From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill seeking to amend the Customs, Excise, Tariffs, etc Act to earmark revenue from excise duty on non-alcoholic, carbonated, and sweetened beverages to funding for health-related programmes and infrastructure, through second reading.
The amendment, sponsored by Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo (Rivers West), is designed to make Nigeria’s taxation system more responsive to the nation’s health needs by ensuring that part of the existing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax directly funds primary healthcare and preventive initiatives.
Leading the debate, Banigo, a medical doctor and former Deputy Governor of Rivers State, represented by Amos Yohanna, said the proposal was “not a new tax,” but a strategy to “put existing revenues to better use in improving the wellbeing of Nigerians.”
She said: “This amendment is not merely fiscal in nature; it is a public health investment strategy that aligns taxation policy with our national health priorities, It seeks to redirect part of the current excise revenue from sweetened beverages to fund preventive health programmes and strengthen healthcare delivery at the grassroots.”
Banigo explained that excessive sugar consumption has become a major driver of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and heart disease which now account for more than 30 percent of annual deaths in Nigeria.
She noted that while these diseases are largely preventable, government investment in public health remains inadequate. “More than two decades after the Abuja Declaration, where African leaders pledged to commit 15 percent of national budgets to health, Nigeria is yet to meet that target,” she said. “With dwindling donor support and the exodus of health professionals, we must innovate within our fiscal system to secure sustainable domestic funding for health.”
The senator highlighted that several sectors already benefit from earmarked levies within existing laws including education, defence, and technology but none currently support the health sector.
“Public health is conspicuously missing from this framework,” she observed. “This bill seeks to correct that by making health a beneficiary of excise revenues, particularly from products that contribute to poor health outcomes.”
If passed, Banigo said, the amendment would create a dedicated fund to support preventive health programmes, community-level healthcare infrastructure, wellness education in schools and workplaces, and early screening for lifestyle-related diseases.
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She pointed to successful examples in South Africa, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, where similar earmarking of excise taxes had improved public health outcomes and encouraged both manufacturers and consumers to adopt healthier alternatives.
“This approach will make Nigeria’s tax framework smarter, more purposeful, and people-centered,” Banigo said. “Every naira collected from health-risk products should directly contribute to protecting and improving public health.”
Speaking further, she urged senators to support the bill for second reading, emphasising that it would turn fiscal policy into a “tool for disease prevention, health promotion, and human capital development.”
“This is about ensuring that our tax system works for Nigerians,” she concluded. “By earmarking part of the soft drink tax for health, we are investing in our people, our productivity, and our future.”
Supporting the bill, Idiat Adebule, cautioned that it must not in any way attract any additional tax to Nigerians, while Senate Whip, Tahir Monguno, stated that additional funding for public health will cover the gap left by the withdrawal of aid by donor agencies.
However, some senators noted that the bill was not necessary to achieve the purpose it seeks, as it is a fiscal change that can be made by the executive. Speaking in this vein, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin explained, “You don’t need a bill to make these adjustments. It goes with the fiscal policy and that can be done by the Executive.”
“Nigerians like alcoholic drinks and sugar, their profits should be taxed and that way, the money can be harnessed and deployed to help Nigerians.
“Let’s not waste our time on things that we don’t need. The committee should please take note.”
The bill was approved for second reading and committed to Committees on Finance, Commerce and Health for further legislative attention.”
