ThinkBusiness Africa has issued a critical response to the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), challenging its recent policy recommendations on increasing the sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax in Nigeria.

The response was presented in a report titled *“Evaluating Nigeria’s Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Tax: A Critical Review of CAPPA’s Policy Proposals”* during a media parley held in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Ogho Okiti, Chief Executive Officer of ThinkBusiness Africa, described CAPPA’s proposal to raise the SSB tax from N10 to N130 per litre—a 1,200 per cent increase—as economically dangerous and lacking credible evidence.

He said the CAPPA report is based on outdated and inconsistently applied data and fails to justify such a steep tax increase. “For example, while citing the rising prevalence of obesity among urban women, CAPPA’s own field data shows higher SSB consumption among adolescent males aged 15–19, a contradiction that undermines the policy rationale for such a drastic tax increase,” Okiti said.

He also noted that Nigeria’s per capita sugar consumption, at 6.9 kilograms per year, remains among the lowest in the West African sub-region. According to him, there has been no public performance review of the existing N10-per-litre SSB tax introduced in 2022, making it unclear on what basis the tax is being declared ineffective.

“To recommend new taxes without evaluating the existing ones is fiscal adventurism, not policy leadership,” Okiti stated.

He warned that the proposed tax increase could impose significant economic costs, particularly on small and medium-sized businesses. He pointed out that beverage companies already face a total effective tax burden of up to 45 percent, including corporate income tax, value-added tax, and education levies.

“Raising the SSB tax further could push many SMEs to the brink, erode competitiveness, and increase unemployment,” he said.

The ThinkBusiness Africa report calls for a more evidence-based and economically balanced approach to health and fiscal policy decisions related to SSBs.

The report, titled “Evaluating Nigeria’s Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Tax: A Critical Review of CAPPA’s Policy Proposals,”  was unveiled recently at a media parley in Lagos.
  
The Chief Executive Officer of ThinkBusiness Africa, Dr. Ogho Okiti, addressed journalists and stakeholders from across the economic and health policy ecosystem, stating that CAPPA’s proposed 1,200 per cent increase in the SSB tax from N10 to N130 per litre, is unjustified, poorly evidenced, and economically risky.
   
He stressed that the CAPPA report relies on outdated and selectively applied data, reaching conclusions that do not hold up to rigorous analysis.
  
“For example, while citing the rising prevalence of obesity among urban women, CAPPA’s own field data shows higher SSB consumption among adolescent males aged 15–19, a contradiction that undermines the policy rationale for such a drastic tax increase,” he stressed.
  
Okiti highlighted that Nigeria’s per capita sugar consumption, at 6.9kg per year, remains one of the lowest in the West African sub-region.
  
He questioned how a tax originally implemented as a N10-per-litre levy in 2022, with no publicly disclosed performance data to date, could be considered a failure, let alone one that warrants such a steep hike.
   
According to him, recommending new taxes without evaluating existing ones amounts to fiscal adventurism, not policy leadership.
  
He also drew attention to the severe economic risks such a move would present.
  
“With beverage companies already facing an effective tax burden of up to 45 per cent including corporate income tax, value-added tax, and education levies, raising the SSB tax further could push many small and medium enterprises to the brink, erode competitiveness, and increase unemployment,” he explained.
 
Okiti argued that the beverage sector is a significant employer and contributor to government revenue, noting that destabilising it would have ripple effects across supply chains, distribution networks, and informal retail.
 
He said rather than endorsing excessive taxation as the silver bullet for public health, ThinkBusiness Africa’s report calls for a more comprehensive and evidence-based approach.
 
The counter-report recommended strengthening enforcement of existing NAFDAC regulations on labelling and trans fats, expanding nutrition education in schools, promoting physical activity, and cracking down on misleading advertising.
 
The report also suggested that Nigeria commission a Total Dietary Intake Study to properly understand national consumption patterns and calls for the institution of
Regulatory Impact Assessments before introducing any new tax policy.
 
During the question and answer session with the media, Okiti addressed a range of questions on industry lobbying, public health priorities, and the risk of appearing to defend corporate interests.
 
“We’re not defending any sector; we are defending the integrity of policymaking. When data is weak, and assumptions are misaligned with national realities, we have a duty to speak up. Nigeria’s health challenges are real, but so are its economic vulnerabilities. We need a path that balances both,” he stated.
 
He closed the session by calling on government, civil society, academia, and the private sector to embrace a more collaborative, transparent, and context-specific approach to public health reform.
 
“We should not import policy models wholesale from advanced economies without assessing their local relevance. We must tailor our strategies to Nigeria’s realities because what works in Oslo or Ottawa may not work in Owerri.”