The National Association of Nigerian Students in the South-West zone has condemned the Federal Government’s plan to introduce N10 per litre tax on carbonated drinks.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, recently announced the plan while saying it was a move to discourage excessive consumption of sugar in beverages which she said contributed to a number of health conditions including diabetes and obesity.
But the Coordinator of NANS in South-West, Olatunji Adegboye, said in a statement on Monday that imposing tax on soft drinks was not a way diabetes and other health-related ailment associated with consumption of sweetened beverages could be stopped.
Adegboye argued that the introduction of additional duty on the already taxed products showed the government was insensitive and was bereft of ideas to drive its internally generated revenue.
The students’ body described the planned duty as a deliberate attempt by the Federal Government to pile more miseries on the hapless citizens.
The NANS said instead of adding to the economic hardship Nigerians were being made to suffer through the planned duty, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, ( retd.), should look at how to reduce the cost of governance to free more funds for development.
