Okay, so, the Senate… they’ve just, well, they passed this bill, right? For a second reading. It’s all about amending the Customs, Excise, Tariffs Act. It sounds kinda boring, I know, but hold on.

Basically, the idea is to take some of the money from taxes—excise duty, specifically—on like, you know, fizzy drinks, sugary stuff, and use it to fund healthcare programs. Health-related stuff.

Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo—Rivers West, that’s her—she’s the one who’s pushing for this. Or, well, sponsoring it, I guess is the right word. The goal? To make our tax system actually help people’s health. Make it more responsive. You know? She wants to use the sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax…to fund healthcare. Primary stuff.

So, during the debate—I wasn’t there, obviously, but reading the reports—Banigo, who’s a doctor, actually, a medical doctor and former Deputy Governor (Rivers State, in case you forgot), was represented by Amos Yohanna who said it’s “not a new tax,” she says, but about “put[ting] existing revenues to better use”. And I think that’s important, right? Better use in improving health. I mean, come on.

“This amendment is not merely fiscal in nature; it is a public health investment strategy that aligns taxation policy with our national health priorities,” she said, or rather, Yohanna said, reading her statement. “It seeks to redirect part of the current excise revenue from sweetened beverages to fund preventive health programmes and strengthen healthcare delivery at the grassroots.” It’s all about preventing problems before they happen!

Banigo (or, you know, Yohanna) pointed out that too much sugar is a major cause of things like diabetes, obesity, heart problems… the bad stuff. And these non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – they account for a lot of deaths here, more than 30 percent, she said. It’s a lot.

And you’d think we’d be throwing money at preventing this, right? But, well, not really. “More than two decades after the Abuja Declaration,” she said, “where African leaders pledged to commit 15 percent of national budgets to health, Nigeria is yet to meet that target.” And with less money coming from other countries, and health workers leaving… well, something’s gotta give. “With dwindling donor support and the exodus of health professionals, we must innovate within our fiscal system to secure sustainable domestic funding for health.” So, yeah.

She also brought up that other sectors already get money from these kinds of earmarked levies. Education, defense, technology. But not health. “Public health is conspicuously missing from this framework,” she observed. Which is… yeah. “This bill seeks to correct that by making health a beneficiary of excise revenues, particularly from products that contribute to poor health outcomes.” Makes sense when you hear it like that.

If it actually passes, this amendment, Banigo says, it’ll create a fund to support all sorts of health programs. And, get this, wellness education in schools, too. And early screening. Like, proactive stuff.

She even gave examples. South Africa, Mexico, the UK – they’ve done similar things, and it’s worked. “This approach will make Nigeria’s tax framework smarter, more purposeful, and people-centered,” Banigo said. “Every naira collected from health-risk products should directly contribute to protecting and improving public health.”

Senator Idiat Adebule… she supported the bill, but stressed, CAUTIONED that it shouldn’t add any extra tax. Can’t blame her, people are already struggling. And Senate Whip Tahir Monguno said extra funding would help make up for less aid coming in, which is good news, I guess.

But not everyone was thrilled. Some senators thought the bill was unnecessary. Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, for example, was like, “You don’t need a bill to make these adjustments. It goes with the fiscal policy and that can be done by the Executive.” He thinks the executive branch could just… do it. Make the changes themselves.

And then he added, “Nigerians like alcoholic drinks and sugar, their profits should be taxed and that way, the money can be harnessed and deployed to help Nigerians.” Which, I mean, okay. A little blunt, maybe.

Then he said, “Let’s not waste our time on things that we don’t need. The committee should please take note.” So, he’s not a fan of the bill itself.

Anyway, the bill did pass the second reading. So, it’s moving forward. It’s been sent to Committees on Finance, Commerce, and Health for a closer look. It’s not a done deal, of course, far from it maybe, but it’s a step, you know? A step toward… well, healthier Nigerians. Or maybe just slightly better funded healthcare. We’ll see what happens.

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