World marks World Food Safety Day
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, has expressed shock and deep concern over the Senate’s decision to proceed with the passage of the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB)Tax Bill despite overwhelming objections from private sector stakeholders, led by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

He noted that the bill sought to impose an additional layer of taxation on non-alcoholic beverage manufacturers, at a time when government policy should focus on easing the cost of doing business and revitalising manufacturing.

Adding that the bill was ill-timed, insensitive to prevailing economic realities and inconsistent with the Federal Government’s commitment to reducing the tax burden on businesses, he said it came when manufacturers were grappling with elevated energy costs, high interest rates, FX pressures, logistics challenges, weak consumer purchasing power and multiple taxes and levies.

He noted that the imposition of an additional excise tax on non-alcoholic beverages would further erode industrial competitiveness and weaken investment prospects.

Pointing out that the proposed legislation also ran contrary to the spirit of the ongoing fiscal and tax reforms designed to create a more investment-friendly business environment, he noted that the 2026 fiscal policy framework already provided for an excise duty of N10 per litre on non-alcoholic beverages.

Further escalation of the tax burden through additional legislation, he said, would create policy inconsistency, heighten regulatory uncertainty and undermine investor confidence.

MEANWHILE, as the world marks World Food Safety Day 2026 today under the theme, “From Burden to Solutions: Safe Food Everywhere,” Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has renewed its call on the Nigerian government to adopt and implement stronger, healthy food policies to protect citizens from the growing burden of diet-related diseases.

The organisation noted that while food safety was often discussed in terms of contamination, adulteration, and foodborne illnesses, truly safe food must also protect consumers from excessive levels of salt, sugar, unhealthy fats, and harmful additives that are risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, stroke, kidney disease, and certain cancers.