Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has submitted a Freedom of Information request to the National Assembly, seeking comprehensive legislative records on the National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The request, dated August 13 and addressed to the Clerk of the Senate, follows concerns raised by public health stakeholders that proposed amendments could weaken Nigeria’s tobacco-control framework.
CAPPA said the request is aimed at establishing the legislative history of the Bill, strengthening transparency in the lawmaking process and clarifying how provisions considered harmful to public health became part of the consolidated Bill.
The organisation is seeking certified copies of the Senate and House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings covering all stages of the Bill’s consideration, including first and second readings, committee proceedings, consideration of committee reports, third reading and passage.
It also requested the dates of each legislative stage, names and constituencies of sponsors and co-sponsors, records of divisions or votes, committee reports, details of public hearings and stakeholder submissions, as well as the Bill’s current status and whether it has been transmitted to the President for assent.
CAPPA invoked Sections 1(1), 2(3)(f) and 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, and asked the National Assembly to provide the requested information within the statutory seven-day period.
The organisation said the records may be supplied electronically or as certified physical copies where applicable.
At a press briefing in Abuja on August 9, the Nigeria Tobacco Control Community, a coalition of more than 100 civil society organisations, public health advocates and tobacco-control stakeholders, called for the immediate recall of the consolidated Bill.
The coalition expressed concern over proposed amendments relating to non-combustible nicotine products, advertising and promotion, online sales, point-of-sale promotion, product sampling, packaging and penalties.
The group also questioned the legislative history of some provisions, noting that controversial clauses were reportedly absent from versions of the Bill presented during a public hearing on November 22, 2024.
It consequently demanded clarification on how the provisions were introduced into the consolidated Bill, who sponsored them and which public health institutions reviewed them.
CAPPA maintained that any effort to update Nigeria’s tobacco-control laws to address emerging nicotine products should strengthen, rather than undermine, existing safeguards against tobacco-related diseases and nicotine addiction.
The coalition particularly objected to provisions it said could allow certain forms of promotion of non-combustible nicotine products through adult publications, point-of-sale materials and online platforms, as well as sponsorship of cultural, social and recreational events.
It also raised concerns over proposed changes concerning online sales, product sampling and the classification of heated tobacco products.
The groups warned that Nigeria’s large youth population and the rapid spread of digital content could expose young people to tobacco and nicotine marketing, even where proposed exemptions are intended for adults.
The Nigeria Tobacco Control Community has therefore called for the immediate recall of the consolidated Bill and a fresh, transparent and public health-led review.
CAPPA said its FOI request was made in the interest of public health, accountability and transparency.
The release was issued by CAPPA’s Media and Communications Officer Robert Egbe.