Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has filed a Freedom of Information request with the National Assembly seeking comprehensive legislative records on the National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, amid concerns that proposed changes could weaken Nigeria’s tobacco-control safeguards.
CAPPA, in a statement on Tuesday, said its request, dated August 13 and addressed to the Clerk of the Senate, seeks to establish the legislative history of the Bill and clarify how provisions considered harmful to public health entered the current consolidated text.
The request comes days after the Nigeria Tobacco Control Community, a coalition of more than 100 civil society organisations, public health advocates and tobacco-control stakeholders, rejected the proposed amendments and called for the immediate recall of the Bill.
CAPPA is asking the National Assembly to provide certified copies of the Senate and House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings covering every stage of the Bill’s consideration, including first and second readings, committee referral, 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 recorded votes, relevant committee reports, details of public hearings and stakeholder submissions, and 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 asked the National Assembly to provide the requested information within the statutory seven-day period.
“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.
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The organisation said the records would help clarify how provisions that were not contained in versions of the legislation presented at a public hearing on November 22, 2024, subsequently appeared in the consolidated Bill.
At a press briefing in Abuja on August 9, the Nigeria Tobacco Control Community warned that the proposed amendments could weaken safeguards under the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 and create regulatory openings for tobacco and nicotine companies.
The groups raised concerns about proposed changes relating to non-combustible nicotine products, advertising and promotion, online sales, point-of-sale promotion, product sampling, packaging and penalties.
The tobacco-control community has also questioned who introduced provisions it considers concessions to tobacco and nicotine interests and which public-health institutions reviewed them.
It argued that any update to tobacco-control legislation to address emerging nicotine products should strengthen rather than weaken Nigeria’s protections against tobacco-related disease and nicotine addiction.
The coalition 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.
Its concerns also cover proposed changes to online sales, product sampling and the classification of heated tobacco products.
The groups argued that Nigeria’s large youth population and the rapid circulation of digital content could expose young people to tobacco and nicotine marketing despite exemptions ostensibly designed for adults.
The coalition has consequently called for the immediate recall of the consolidated Bill and a fresh, transparent, public health-led review.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X