By Bilkis Abdulraheem Lawal
Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has asked the National Assembly to release comprehensive legislative records on the National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, amid concerns that proposed changes could weaken Nigeria’s tobacco-control safeguards.
In a Freedom of Information request dated August 13 and addressed to the Clerk of the Senate, CAPPA sought certified records showing how the Bill progressed through the Senate and House of Representatives.
A statement issued by CAPPA’s Media and Communications Officer, Robert Egbe, requested the Votes and Proceedings for every stage of the Bill, including first and second readings, committee consideration, public hearings, third reading and passage. It also asked for the names of sponsors and co-sponsors, committee reports, recorded votes, stakeholder submissions and the Bill’s current status, including whether it has been sent to the President for assent.
CAPPA invoked the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, and requested the information within the statutory seven-day period.
The request follows concerns raised by the Nigeria Tobacco Control Community, a coalition of more than 100 civil society organisations, public health advocates and tobacco-control stakeholders.
At a press briefing in Abuja on August 9, the coalition called for the immediate recall of the consolidated Bill, alleging that some provisions could create regulatory loopholes for tobacco and nicotine companies.
The groups particularly criticised proposed changes relating to non-combustible nicotine products, advertising and promotion, online sales, point-of-sale promotion, product sampling, packaging and penalties.
They also questioned how some controversial provisions entered the consolidated Bill, claiming they were not contained in versions presented at a public hearing on November 22, 2024.
CAPPA said the legislative records would help establish the Bill’s history and clarify who introduced the disputed provisions and whether relevant public health institutions reviewed them.
The coalition maintains that any update to Nigeria’s tobacco-control laws should strengthen protections against tobacco-related disease and nicotine addiction, rather than weaken them.
It has therefore called for the Bill to be recalled and subjected to a fresh, transparent and public health-led review.
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