The National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) has criticised the Federal Government and threatened to go on a labour strike over the planned increase on the excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
While speaking at a meeting by the organised labour, President of NUFBTE, Lateef Oyelekan, said that more than 20,000 workers are presently employed in the alcoholic and tobacco sector and may lose their jobs if the amendment takes effect.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the recently implemented excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products by the Federal Government of Nigeria were too low and instead should be higher to act as “a fail-proof revenue raising strategy.”
The World body is recommending a 100% increase in excise duty be slapped on the affected products to conform to global norms.
The Federal government has signed-off on the implementation of a new excise duty regime on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products as it seeks to raise government’s fiscal revenues.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved an amendment to the excise tariff rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products which are slated to go into effect on 4th June 2018, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said on Sunday.
The much anticipated FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour arrived in Nigeria on Wednesday, with a first stop in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital and was received by the President, Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa. Also present at the welcoming ceremony were other stakeholders such as the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, officials of the Coca-Cola Company including the Managing Director of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Bhupendra Suri and his counterpart and Managing Director at the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), Georgios Polymenakos.
President Muhammadu Buhari has replaced the Director-General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) and 22 other Federal Government agencies in what appears to be a major agency shake-up.
The CPC was formerly headed by Mrs. Dupe Atoki, who earlier this week released the results of her agency’s investigation on the level of additives contained in soft drinks produced in Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari has lamented on the culture of waste in the country due to poor preservation of agricultural produce.
The President was speaking while meeting with the Global Chief Executive Officer of Royal FrieslandCampina of the Netherlands, Mr. Roelof Joosten, at State House, Abuja on Tuesday.
