By Nkechi Eze
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has expressed strong reservations over Nigeria’s newly approved 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures and Tariff Amendments, warning that the country’s tobacco tax framework significantly undermines public health objectives while favouring industry interests.
The Federal Government, through a circular, approved the implementation of the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures, which include supplementary ECOWAS Common External Tariff provisions, excise duties on non-alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, as well as a Green Tax Surcharge, all effective from April 1, 2026.
However, concerns have emerged over the structure of the tobacco excise regime, which establishes a three-year framework from 2026 to 2028. The policy retains the 30 per cent ad-valorem tax component introduced under the 2023–2025 regime while introducing marginal annual increases of ₦1.00 on the specific excise component.
According to an official signed statement by Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director of CISLAC, the approved amendments fall significantly short of global best practices and fail to meet Nigeria’s obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
He stated that the current tax structure does little to discourage tobacco consumption or reduce exposure to its health risks, stressing that the policy weakens the role of taxation as a tool for public health protection and revenue generation.
Rafsanjani noted that the proposed increments are ineffective when measured against prevailing economic realities. He explained that while the previous regime placed excise duty at ₦5.20 per stick in 2024, the new framework introduces only a ₦0.80 increase by 2026, representing a 13 per cent rise over nearly two years below the country’s inflation rate of 15.06 per cent within the same period.
He further highlighted Nigeria’s significant deviation from regional benchmarks, noting that under Economic Community of West African States guidelines, the recommended specific excise tax stands at $0.40 per pack of cigarettes. In contrast, Nigeria’s projected rates under the current regime translate to between ₦120 and ₦160 per pack by 2028, less than 30 per cent of the regional recommendation.
The CISLAC Executive Director argued that the structure of the tax regime effectively benefits the tobacco industry by maintaining product affordability and enabling profit maximization. He warned that such a framework would likely increase access to tobacco products, particularly among young people, while sustaining addiction levels among adult users.
He also expressed concern that the policy contradicts broader fiscal reforms undertaken by the administration, particularly efforts aimed at enhancing revenue mobilization. Rafsanjani described it as inconsistent that while citizens face increased costs in sectors such as fuel and electricity following subsidy removals, harmful industries like tobacco are subjected to what he termed a lenient tax regime.
He further noted that the development runs contrary to the policy commitments of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose administration had pledged to deploy health taxes as a mechanism for financing universal healthcare and discouraging the consumption of harmful products.
Rafsanjani warned that failure to adopt stronger tobacco taxation measures would have far-reaching implications, including increased health risks, rising healthcare costs, and deepening socio-economic inequalities, particularly among low-income households.
CISLAC, therefore, called on the Federal Government to align its tobacco taxation policy with ECOWAS directives and international standards by adopting a robust specific excise system that adjusts automatically for inflation and income growth. The organisation also urged authorities to insulate policymaking from tobacco industry influence and ensure broader stakeholder engagement in future fiscal policy reviews.
The group maintained that strengthening tobacco taxation remains critical to advancing public health outcomes, protecting vulnerable populations, and fulfilling Nigeria’s international obligations.
