CAPPA Demands Legislative Records Over Controversial Tobacco Control Bill
Questions over how controversial provisions entered Nigeria’s proposed tobacco-control law have pushed a civil society group to demand a full paper trail from the National Assembly.
Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) says it has filed a Freedom of Information request with the Senate, seeking comprehensive records on the National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The group wants certified copies of the Senate and House of Representatives’ Votes and Proceedings covering every stage of the Bill, including readings, committee consideration, public hearings, recorded votes and its current status.
It also wants the names of sponsors and co-sponsors and details of stakeholder submissions.
CAPPA’s request follows concerns from the Nigeria Tobacco Control Community, a coalition of more than 100 civil society and public-health organisations, which has called for the Bill to be recalled.
The coalition argues that some proposed changes could weaken safeguards in the 2015 tobacco-control law, particularly around online sales, advertising, product sampling, point-of-sale promotion, packaging and non-combustible nicotine products.
It is also questioning how provisions it considers harmful to public health appeared in the consolidated Bill when, according to the coalition, they were absent from versions presented at a November 2024 public hearing.
CAPPA has invoked the Freedom of Information Act and asked the National Assembly to release the requested records within the statutory seven-day period.
The coalition says the Bill should undergo a fresh, transparent and public-health-led review, warning that exemptions aimed at adults could still expose young people to tobacco and nicotine marketing through digital platforms.
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