WorldStage Newsonline– A Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations; Business Renaissance Group (BRG) and Sustained Development Collective (SDC) has raised an alarm over the recent upward review of excise duty on locally produced alcoholic beverages and tobacco, saying it could endanger 250, 000 jobs and an investment portfolio of about N420 billion.
The groups said at a media briefing on Tuesday in Abuja therefore threatened to seek judicial redress after 30 days should the Federal Government fail to reverse the policy.
The group vowed to go to court without further recourse to government if the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun refuses to heed to their call.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, recently announced an amendment to the existing tariff and Excise Duty on some locally produced goods with the new duty to be paid by alcohol beverages put at N200 per litre for spirits and N150 for wines, up from 20 per cent or N31 per litre.
President of the Coalition for NGOs, Mazi Omife, noted that “The Wines and Spirit industry is one of the few surviving sectors of the Nigerian economy and all patriots and men of good conscience should strive to ensure that the sector flourishes.
“If immediate steps are not taken to review the new excise legislation, the local wines and spirits industry will be prone to massive job loss of about 25,000 direct employees and over 200, 000 indirect employees and beneficiaries.”
He lamented that there was no consultation and engagement with the local producers, distillers and blenders association of Nigeria by the Minister of Finance, adding that immediate steps must be taken to review the duty with a view to reducing it to be in consonance with present day reality.
He said, “The Business Renaissance Group (BRG) restates the obvious fact that the astronomical increase in the tariff is counter-productive and will lead to massive job loss, turn the country into a dump-yard for foreign products, further pauperize Nigerians and stifle growth in an otherwise resilient sector of the economy.”
Also, Coordinator of the coalition group, Dr. Ike Ikegbunam explained that the review was not timely and not in the best interest of the country for now, and called on the government to immediately review the decision.
Legal Adviser to the Coalition, Ogbonnaya Agbafo, Esq, stressed that when government decisions jeopardize the economy and becomes negative, businesses will die.
He further noted that if the Excise Duty is not reviewed, it might lead to protests from the labour unions and a possible unrest in the country.
