By Abdullahi Alhassan
Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria - September 11, 2025 (Series News Online)
A landmark workshop was held in Abuja, bringing together key stakeholders from government ministries, academia, civil society organizations, and international partners to review and endorse the Tobacco Excise Tax Simulation (TETSiM) report. The report aims to reshape Nigeria's tobacco taxation policy and align with regional and global tobacco control benchmarks.
The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, emphasized the significance of the Tobacco Tax Advocacy project partnership with Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) and the University of Cape Town (UCT). "While Nigeria is not yet where it should be, measurable progress has been recorded, showing that with more push, Nigeria can meet the regional and global benchmarks for tobacco taxation," Rafsanjani said.
Rafsanjani highlighted the importance of excise taxes in reducing tobacco affordability and consumption, especially among the youth. "Article 6 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control clearly sets price and tax measures as the most cost-effective tobacco control strategies," he explained.
The representative from the Ministry of Finance, Sarah Bwala, affirmed Nigeria's commitment to revising the excisable goods regime in line with ECOWAS directives. "This validation workshop comes at a critical time as Nigeria undertakes a comprehensive review," she said. "Our focus is not only on revenue generation but also on protecting public health."
The Director of the Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), Corne Walbeek, underscored the devastating impact of tobacco. "Tobacco kills half of its regular users every year, contributing to approximately eight million deaths worldwide," he said. Walbeek explained the purpose of the TETSiM model, saying, "This tool quantifies the likely effects of excise tax changes on cigarette prices, consumption, government revenue, and public health."
Policy Officer at Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), John Thomi, addressed common industry arguments about job losses due to increased tobacco taxes. "We are here to support CISLAC because the tobacco industry's claim that job losses will follow tax hikes is a fallacy," he argued. "Research proves that reducing tobacco consumption leads to healthier populations of consumers and allows consumer spending to shift to other sectors of the economy, sustaining jobs elsewhere," he said.
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Health