Ahmadu Bello University’s Department of Local Government and Development Studies, Zaria, has held the fourth edition of its annual Talk Shop Series, focusing on the health and policy implications of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and Nigeria’s SSB tax.
The event, themed “Implications of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax on Health Development in Nigeria”, took place at the department’s Theatre 1 and formed part of the course requirement for Social Mobilisation in Local Governments (LGDS 314).
Delivering the lead paper, Dr. Umar Sani Bebeji, a lecturer at ABU’s Faculty of Law, highlighted the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) linked to excessive SSB consumption. He noted that treatment costs place heavy strain on households and government budgets, stressing that preventive fiscal measures, such as excise taxes, remain more cost-effective.
Bebeji identified significant challenges to the implementation of SSB taxation, including regressiveness, potential job losses, smuggling, substitution, tax evasion, weak inter-agency coordination, and limited use of digital tax tools.
To strengthen Nigeria’s health tax policy, he recommended the adoption of a sugar-based tiered excise system, raising rates to achieve a 10–20 per cent price increase, broadening coverage to teas, concentrates, and flavoured waters, and indexing tax rates to both inflation and sugar content.
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