The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has applauded the advocacy for higher taxation on sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) in Nigeria. Kukah made the commendation during an advocacy visit to the Kukah Centre in Abuja by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) to discuss SSBs tax in Nigeria.
According to Kukah, taxing sugar sweetened beverages is a laudable idea if the revenue generated from the tax is channelled to more important projects. He noted that imposing higher taxes on such products might discourage people from buying them, which could reduce the number of fake products in circulation.
Kukah also stressed the adverse effects of consuming sugar sweetened beverages on Nigerians’ health, saying, “We are killing ourselves with these products due to our ignorance. This campaign is about our survival, so we must all listen to what is being said about the danger of these products.”
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, has called on the government to take action to reduce the consumption of SSBs in Nigeria. He cited the link between SSBs and the risk of obesity and diabetes, which are on the rise in the country.
Oluwafemi noted that the current N10 per litre tax on sugar sweetened beverages was insufficient, saying, “When you look at N10 per litre, it is less than one percent of the prices of some of those products, so we are now saying that the government should gradually move toward that by first increasing to N20 and from N20 you can then continue to graduate the tax.”
In conclusion, Kukah and Oluwafemi’s advocacy is a call to the Nigerian government to increase taxation on sugar sweetened beverages to discourage their consumption and reduce the risk of health problems associated with their intake.