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The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has asked the National Assembly to exclude tobacco products from the proposed Food, Medical Products and Related Products (Registration, Etc.) Bill, 2026, warning of regulatory duplication and disruption to business.
In a submission to the Senate Committee on Health, NECA said extending the Bill to tobacco would conflict with the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015, the National Tobacco Control Regulations, 2019, and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Act, 2015.
The Bill, sponsored by Senator Umar Sadiq Suleiman, passed second reading on July 21, 2026. It seeks to repeal the Food, Drugs and Related Products Act, 2004, and create a new framework for food, medical and related products.
NECA argued that the Bill would create overlapping responsibilities among the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, SON and the Nigeria Customs Service. It said this would mean multiple registrations, duplicative approvals, conflicting enforcement decisions and higher compliance costs.
The association maintained that tobacco is a distinct regulatory category, not food or medicine, and that NAFDAC’s current mandate does not expressly cover it. It also objected to the Bill’s proposed “ceiling-list” mechanism, which it said would give NAFDAC excessive discretion to restrict products without adequate safeguards.
It further flagged new powers over registration, suspension, seizure and factory operations.
NECA urged lawmakers to exclude tobacco, add safeguards against unilateral regulatory decisions, and strengthen coordination among agencies.
At the public hearing, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, NAFDAC’s supervising ministry, expressed strong reservations.
Represented by Dr Adebisi Adegoke, Director of Hospital Services, it cited potential conflicts, duplication and overlapping mandates. It recommended deferring the Bill to allow wider consultation and full alignment with the ministry.
SON backed that position, saying some provisions conflict with its enabling Act and could interfere with its statutory responsibilities. It also said there had been insufficient engagement and consultation in drafting the amendments.
Tobacco industry operators also opposed the Bill, saying manufacturing, importation, distribution, packaging, health warnings and product standards are already tightly regulated. They said parallel approval and enforcement structures could expose compliant firms to conflicting directives and uncertainty over which regulator has final authority.
They described their objection as one to “regulatory multiplication,” not to public-health regulation, and said resources should go to illicit trade and non-compliant operators.
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