The organisation said increasing excise taxes on tobacco products alone would not guarantee improved public health outcomes or higher government revenue, particularly if manufacturers and other operators are able to evade taxes or engage in illicit trade and under-declaration.
Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, made the remarks on Wednesday at the Second National Tobacco Tax Summit organised by the organisation in Abuja.
Rafsanjani called on the government to intensify efforts to tackle tax evasion, illicit tobacco trade, under-declaration and other practices capable of undermining the objectives of the new tax regime.
“A strong tobacco tax policy on paper means very little if enforcement is weak, revenue administration is opaque and powerful interests are allowed to undermine implementation.
“Nigeria, therefore, needs more than higher taxes. We need effective administration, transparent revenue collection, strong monitoring, tougher enforcement and credible sanctions against tax evasion, illicit trade, under-declaration and other abuses,” he said.
He stressed the importance of transparency and accountability in the administration of tobacco taxes, arguing that citizens should be able to track how the taxes are structured, the revenue generated and the government’s response to violations.
“CISLAC also believes that accountability must be at the heart of tobacco taxation. Nigerians have a right to know how tobacco taxes are designed.
“How much revenue is generated, whether companies are fully complying, what sanctions are imposed when violations occur and how government ensures that public health remains the overriding consideration,” Rafsanjani said.
He said tobacco taxation should be treated as more than a fiscal instrument, describing it as an important public health intervention capable of discouraging the consumption of harmful products.
According to him, higher taxes can make tobacco products less affordable and potentially reduce consumption, particularly among children and young people.
Rafsanjani also called for stronger safeguards against undue influence by tobacco industry interests in public health policymaking.
He maintained that the effectiveness of tobacco taxation should not be assessed solely by the amount of money generated for government, but also by its impact on tobacco consumption and the prevention of tobacco-related diseases.
“The real measure of success,” he said in his remarks, should extend to the number of lives protected and diseases prevented.
The CISLAC executive director further called for closer coordination among key institutions involved in tobacco taxation and control, including the Federal Ministries of Finance and Health, Nigeria Revenue Service, Nigeria Customs Service, National Assembly, regulatory agencies, civil society organisations, researchers and other stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has defended its new tobacco tax regime, describing it as part of broader efforts to balance fiscal priorities with public health objectives.
Mrs Sarah Bwala, Assistant Director, Federal Ministry of Finance, said the government had introduced a new tobacco tax regime covering 2026 to 2028, featuring progressive increases in specific excise tax rates on tobacco products.
Bwala, who represented the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, spoke at the summit.
“The recent announcement of the new tobacco tax regime covering the period 2026 to 2028, with progressive increment in specific excise tax rates, represents another important step in government’s effort to strengthen country fiscal and public health objectives,” she said.
She explained that Nigeria had operated a mixed excise tax system on tobacco products since 2018, noting that the approach was consistent with global best practices and recommendations under the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC).
According to Bwala, tobacco taxation remains an important policy tool for discouraging the consumption of harmful tobacco products, protecting public health and generating sustainable revenue for government.
She said the formulation and implementation of tobacco tax policies required continuous engagement with stakeholders, empirical evidence and collaboration among relevant government institutions and other actors.
Bwala said the ministry expected discussions at the summit to provide useful perspectives on the new tax regime, including its possible implications for tobacco control, government revenue, industry operations and the broader economy.
She added that the Ministry of Finance remained committed to developing fiscal policies that are equitable, efficient and responsive to Nigeria’s developmental needs.
The positions presented at the summit underscore the dual objectives surrounding tobacco taxation in Nigeria: raising government revenue while using taxation as a public health measure to reduce the affordability and consumption of tobacco products.
For CISLAC, however, achieving those objectives will depend significantly on what happens beyond the announcement of higher tax rates, particularly the effectiveness of revenue administration, enforcement, transparency and measures to curb illicit trade.