Nigerian Breweries ranked highest tax payer with N416 billion
By Felicia Nwosu
In a bid to fulfill its fiscal and constitutional obligation, pioneer and largest brewing company in Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries Plc, has been ranked the highest tax-paying firm in the manufacturing sector of the country’s economy, with the sum of N416bn being paid as tax from 2016 till date.
Chief Kola Jamodu, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated this during the commissioning ceremony of N56 billion expansion civil works at Ama Brewery in Enugu State. The Chairman also added that the firm had equally paid N423.9 million in 2021 in employee taxes, levies and other duties to the Enugu State government.
“As you join us for what is a significant milestone for our business, I hope you will take out time to tour our brewery and see our world-class facilities first-hand. These are some of the machinery, equipment and lines that have kept us at the forefront of the beverage sector as Nigeria’s biggest brewer since 1946.
“We cannot take the credit for this alone. We have enjoyed the support of the Federal Government as well as the various state governments where our breweries are located. On this note, I wish to thank His Excellency, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for your efforts in positioning the state as an investment destination and creating a conducive environment for businesses like ours to thrive,” he said.
Chief Jamodu attested how the partnership between his company and the state government has yielded visible outputs in various sectors.
“Indeed, our partnership with the state government has seen us invest hundreds of millions of naira in various community projects and social investment initiatives in the areas of health, education, community infrastructure and sports development,” he said.
The Board Chairman, however, explained that the expansion project would be executed in two phases. He disclosed that the first phase would be completed in 2022 in full compliance with the international environmental and safety standards.
“The brewery capacity is to be boosted from 3.0 million hectolitres to 4.8 million hectolitres in the first phase, and to 5.3 million hectolitres in the second phase.
“The impact of the expansion will lead to improved revenue and increased economic activities in the state. Today, we have 840 staff who contribute to the growth of Enugu State via tax payments and other levies,” he revealed.
Commenting on the revenue booster by the leading brand, Mansur Ahmed, president of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), represented by the Director General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, applauded the Nigerian Breweries Plc for their huge contribution towards the growth of the manufacturing industry in the country. The MAN president noted that the Ama Brewery is currently the most outstanding, having repositioned itself in the West African sub-region market.
He stated that the expansion project was very apt at a time when virtually all macroeconomic indices were heading south. The DG said over the years, NB Plc. has blazed the trail as a resilient business entity.
“It takes a company with an admixture of strategic thinking and firm belief in the boundless possibilities of the Nigerian market to do so. It is on this note that I congratulate the Enugu State and Nigeria for being worthy hosts to a world class and socially responsible Brewery,” he said.
The representative of MAN president described Nigeria Breweries as a foremost contributor to the GDP in the Beverages sub-sector and a leading source of revenue to states and the Federal Governments as well as a commendable promoter of resource-based industrialisation in Nigeria.
“MAN believes that scale production, as would be delivered by this expansion project, is key to the optimisation of national industrial capacity. This will, in turn, improve our competitiveness, as we stand at the threshold of active trading in the emerging 1.3 billion people market in the African Continental Free Trade Area,” he concluded.
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