Oyedele says taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and sugary drinks will be channelled to healthcare financing under a new draft policy.
The Federal Government is drafting a policy to channel revenues from excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and sugar-sweetened beverages into healthcare financing.
This was disclosed by Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, during a national dialogue on health financing in Abuja on Thursday.
Oyedele explained that the move aims to create a sustainable funding framework for Nigeria’s ailing health sector. “At the end of the day, health is funded by taxpayers. People often talk about health being free abroad, but it is taxpayers who pay for it,” he said.
He described these proposed taxes, commonly known as sin taxes, as “low-hanging fruit” and argued that such revenues should be earmarked for healthcare rather than being shared through the federation account.
“My committee is already working on a draft policy, which we’ll share with the Honorable Minister in due course,” Oyedele added.