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How American Company is Flooding Nigeria with 122 Million Units of Unlicensed Cigarettes
Posted by Odinaka on Wed 09th Dec, 2015 - tori.ngIn a statement, Deputy Director, ERA/FoEN, has revealed that PMINTL Limited company's flooding the country with 'unlicensed, tax-not-paid' cigarettes was a deliberate violation of the National Tobacco Control Act.
Deputy Director, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Akinbode Oluwafemi, has disclosed that one of the world’s biggest tobacco manufacturing companies, Philip Morris International, secured an approval to import 122 million 'units' of cigarettes into Nigeria from September 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016.
He further said that flooding the country with the 'unlicensed, tax-not-paid' cigarettes was a deliberate violation of the National Tobacco Control Act.
"Through this illicit import, PMINTL Nigeria Limited will assault our public health with 122 million units of the identified cigarette brands within seven months," Oluwafemi said in Lagos on Monday.
PMINTL Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of American global cigarette and tobacco company, Philip Morris International, was registered in Nigeria on December 11, 2014.
Five months later, the company got the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) certificate for five PMI brands – Marlboro Gold, Marlboro, Chesterfield Blue, Chesterfield Mint Burst, and Bond Street Blue.
According to ERA/FoEN, Philip Morris International, through Philip Morris Manufacturing Senegal Sarl, applied for and got approval of the country’s Ministry of Industry and Mines, in July 2015, to benefit from the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme for the five cigarette brands.
In August this year, PMINTL Nigeria Limited applied for and secured approval from the Federal Ministry of Finance for the importation of the five cigarette brands into Nigeria.
"The speed of the entire transaction is clearly suspicious and may indicate some government officials may have been compromised to ensure that not only the PMINTL subsidiary is quickly registered, but also to undermine the Tobacco Control Act through the illicit imports.
"Our position is: If PMINTL Nigeria Limited is allowed to go scot-free with this illegal importation, it will send dangerous signals to the international community about Nigeria’s readiness to fulfill its obligations under the WHO FCTC.
"It will also send a wrong message that the Nigerian government is not ready to take on Big Tobacco corporations whenever they flout the nation’s laws.
"We demand the prosecution of PMINTL to stop this new onslaught on our nation and particularly our youth," Oluwafemi said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Philip Morris International said it plays by the rules in all the over 180 countries it operates.
"In every market where we do business, we operate in accordance with national laws and regulations, including in Nigeria.
"PMINTL Nigeria Ltd is an affiliate company of PMI and has been an established legal entity for a year in compliance with all statutory requirements of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and meeting all legal requirements for product’s registration and importation including the payments of all relevant taxes to the concerned authorities," said Vera Nwanze, General Manager, PMINTL Nigeria Limited.
Source: Premium Times
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