CAPPA Seeks FOI Clarification on National Tobacco Act Amendment Bill
Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA; a nongovernmental organization has filed a Freedom of Information request with the National Assembly on the National Tobacco Control Act Amendment Bill, 2025. CAPPA is demanding a comprehensive legislative record on the National Tobacco Act Amendment following concerns by public health stakeholders that the proposed changes would weaken Nigeria’s tobacco-control framework.
The CAPPA FOI request, dated August 19, 2026, was addressed to the Clerk of the Senate, and it comes after the Nigeria Tobacco Control Community, representing more than one hundred civil society groups, issued a joint statement rejecting the proposed amendments. CAPPA says it seeks to verify the legislative history of the bill, promote transparency in the lawmaking process, and clarify how provisions that are considered dangerous to public health were introduced into the legislation.
According to a press statement signed by Signed by Robert Egbe, Media and Communications Officer,
CAPPA, the FOI request requires the National Assembly to provide certified copies of the Senate and House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings reflecting every stage of the Bill's consideration, including first and second readings, committee referral, consideration of committee reports, third reading and passage.
CAPPA, with Akinbode Oluwafemi as the Executive Director, is also requesting the dates of each legislative stage, the names and constituencies of sponsors and co-sponsors, records of any 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.
It notes that "CAPPA invoked Sections 1(1), 2(3)(f) and 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, and requested that the National Assembly provide 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 recalled that at a press briefing in Abuja on August 9, the Nigeria Tobacco Control Community, which includes CAPPA, warned that the consolidated Bill could weaken important safeguards under the NTCA 2015 and create regulatory openings for tobacco and nicotine companies.
"Among the criticised provisions are proposed changes concerning non-combustible nicotine products, advertising and promotion, online sales, point-of-sale promotion, product sampling, packaging and penalties.
"The groups also questioned the legislative history of some of these provisions, saying controversial provisions were not contained in the versions of the legislation presented at a public hearing on November 22, 2024. They consequently demanded answers about how the provisions subsequently entered the consolidated Bill."
CAPPA further noted that it's FOI "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."
It argued that updating tobacco control legislation to address emerging nicotine products should strengthen, not weaken, Nigeria's protections against tobacco-related disease and nicotine addiction.
CAPPA particularly objected to provisions it says 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.