By JKNewsMedia
CONTROVERSIAL PROVISIONS in the National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 have raised questions over how they entered the consolidated legislation, prompting Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) to seek detailed legislative records from the National Assembly (NASS).
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the Freedom of Information (FoI) request, dated August 13 and addressed to the Clerk of the Senate, seeks to establish the Bill’s legislative history, promote transparency in the lawmaking process and clarify how provisions considered dangerous to public health entered the current consolidated text.
Also, CAPPA requested certified copies of the Senate and House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings (HRVP) covering every stage of the Bill’s consideration, including first and second readings, committee referral, consideration of committee reports, third reading and passage.
The organisation also asked for the dates of each legislative stage, names and constituencies of sponsors and co-sponsors, records of divisions or recorded votes, relevant committee reports, details of public hearings and stakeholder submissions, as well as the Bill’s current status, including whether it has been transmitted for presidential assent.
CAPPA invoked Sections 1(1), 2(3)(f) and 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, and requested the information within the statutory seven-day period. It said the records could be supplied electronically or as certified physical copies where applicable.
The NGO’s request came days after the Nigeria Tobacco Control Community (NTCC), a coalition of more than 100 civil society organisations, public health advocates and tobacco-control stakeholders, rejected the proposed amendments and called for the Bill’s immediate recall.
At a press briefing in Abuja on August 9, the coalition warned that the consolidated Bill could weaken safeguards under the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 and create regulatory openings for tobacco and nicotine companies.
The groups raised concerns over proposed changes involving non-combustible nicotine products, advertising and promotion, online sales, point-of-sale promotion, product sampling, packaging and penalties.
E-signed by Robert Egbe, Media and Communications Officer at CAPPA, the statement said the groups also questioned the legislative history of some provisions, noting that controversial clauses were not contained in versions of the legislation presented at a public hearing on November 22, 2024.
The coalition consequently demanded clarification on how the provisions entered the consolidated Bill, who introduced provisions it considers concessions to tobacco and nicotine interests, and which public-health institutions reviewed them.
“This request is made in the interest of promoting public health, accountability, and transparency,” CAPPA stated in its letter to the Clerk of the Senate, stressing that it concerns the legislative history of the National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The tobacco-control community argued that updating tobacco-control legislation to address emerging nicotine products should strengthen, rather than weaken, Nigeria’s protections against tobacco-related disease and nicotine addiction.
It particularly objected to provisions it said could permit forms of promotion of non-combustible products through adult publications, point-of-sale materials and online platforms, as well as sponsorship of cultural, social and recreational events.
The groups also raised concerns about proposed changes to online sales, product sampling and the classification of heated tobacco products.
They contended that, given Nigeria’s large youth population and the rapid circulation of digital content, exemptions ostensibly designed for adults could expose young people to tobacco and nicotine marketing.
The coalition has therefore called for the immediate recall of the consolidated Bill and a fresh, transparent, public health-led review.
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