Anambra Revenue Service Counters Peter Obi’s Brewery Tax Claims

The Anambra State Internal Revenue Service (AiRS) has formally refuted claims made by former governor and Labour Party leader, Peter Obi, regarding the tax contributions of SABMiller Breweries, now operating as International Breweries Plc, in Anambra State.

In an official statement signed by AiRS Chairman, Dr. Greg U. Ezeilo, the agency clarified that contrary to Obi’s repeated public assertions, SABMiller is not the highest taxpayer in the state. Obi had recently stated in interviews, including one on ARISE News, that the brewery he attracted to Anambra during his tenure as governor is “the biggest revenue earner for the state.”

AiRS released actual tax figures covering the years 2023 and 2024, showing that SABMiller ranks sixth among corporate taxpayers in Anambra, with a total tax contribution of ₦656.5 million across two years. This translates to an average of ₦28 million per month in 2023 and ₦26.62 million per month in 2024.

The state’s largest corporate taxpayer, according to AiRS, is Fidelity Bank Plc, which paid a total of ₦2.15 billion within the same period. Other banks like Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Access Bank also recorded far higher tax remittances than SABMiller.

“Interestingly, SABMiller company comes a distant sixth position behind Fidelity Bank Plc,” the statement noted, adding that “the claim can be dismissed with a wave of hand as the company in question contributed on the average ₦28M per month in 2023 and ₦26.62M per month in 2024.”

While acknowledging that Anambra’s internally generated revenue (IGR) has significantly improved from a low of ₦1.5 billion to ₦2 billion monthly—with an all-time high of ₦10.5 billion recorded in May 2025—AiRS stressed that tax contributions must be viewed through verified figures, not political narratives.

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Dr. Ezeilo emphasized that the clarification was necessary to “properly situate the claims made by the former governor and to give undiluted information for the members of the public to note.”

The statement did not dispute the broader economic value of SABMiller’s presence in Anambra State but focused specifically on its corporate tax contributions relative to other firms.

Peter Obi, during his tenure as Anambra governor, had attracted the SABMiller/Intafact brewery to Onitsha as part of his industrialization agenda. The state government under his leadership even acquired a minority stake in the company at the time.

Observers say Obi’s comments were likely intended to highlight his administration’s impact on the state’s economy, though AiRS maintains that accurate public information must be based on verifiable data rather than anecdotal impressions.

AiRS encouraged members of the public seeking further clarification to reach out directly to its office in Awka.