House of Representatives Urged to Halt Passage of CETA Bill

The National Union of Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) has implored the House of Representatives to refrain from voting in favor of the Customs, Excise Tariffs, Etc. (Consolidation) Amendment Bill, 2025 (CETA Bill). The union's concerns were laid out in an open letter to the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, co-signed by NUFBTE President, Comrade Garba Dankama.

The letter warned that passing the legislation at this juncture would further burden Nigerian workers and the manufacturing sector, particularly in the wake of ongoing economic reforms. The 2025 CETA Bill seeks to replace a predictable ₦10-per-liter tax on soft drinks with a percentage levy based on the retail price of the products.

Dankama highlighted the dire straits of the Nigerian workers, stating that they could not endure an additional tax burden. He warned that the proposed law could transform an already challenging environment into a catastrophic one for the sector. Dankama explained that the manufacturing and food, beverage, and tobacco sectors are already experiencing acute distress.

The sector's capacity utilization has significantly dropped due to high borrowing costs, increased energy and logistics expenses, restricted foreign exchange access, and diminished consumer purchasing power. Many production lines have been reduced or completely shut down. The NAD sector, which provides jobs for hundreds of thousands of people in farming, haulage, distribution, and retail, cannot absorb any more tax escalations without causing more closures, layoffs, and a collapse of the value chain, Dankama stated.