By Harry Awurumibe
ABUJA – A concerned non-governmental organization, Business Renaissance Group (BRG) Tuesday in Abuja, threatened to sue the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Finance in particular over the recent upward review of the Excise Duty slammed on the locally produced alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
Speaking at a world press conference held at the Rockview Hotel, Abuja, the President of the coalition called Business Renaissance Group (BRG) and Sustainable Development Collective (SDC), Mazi Omeife I. Omeife gave the federal government a 30-day deadline to reverse the new tariff or face a legal battle.
The coalition, argued that the astronomical increase in the locally produced alcoholic beverages and tobacco is counter- productive and will lead to massive job loss, turn the country into a dump- yard for foreign products, further pauperize Nigerians and stiffle growth in an other wise resilient sector of the economy.
“It is apparent that the announced astronomical increase in Excise Duty by Nigeria’s Finance Minister is bound to endanger the Sector if not reviewed and rescinded.
“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”, Omeife posits.
The group also fears that “given the challenges of Nigeria’s porous border control and illicit market , the attractiveness of the price increase driven by higher result of in smugglers bringing in massive influx of unregistered and untaxed products through the borders with its attendant loss of revenue to government”.
Present at the press conference were Dr. Ike Ikegbunam, Coordinator of the NGO, Barrister Ogbonnaya Agbafo, Legal Adviser and media guru, Chudi Oduenyi.
