• Seek exclusion of tobacco products in legislation

Labour and regulatory bodies have raised concerns over the proposed Food, Medical Products and Related Products (Registration, Etc.) Bill, 2026, which seeks to expand the regulatory framework for food, medical products and related items, warning that it could create overlapping mandates, increase compliance costs and disrupt businesses.

Opposing the bill, which seeks to repeal the Food, Drugs and Related Products Act, 2004, and establish a new regulatory framework, are the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

Also, in its submission to the Senate Committee on Health during a public hearing, NECA urged the National Assembly to exclude tobacco products from the proposed legislation, arguing that the sector is already being governed by dedicated laws and regulations.

NECA warned that extending the legislation to tobacco products could conflict with the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015, the National Tobacco Control Regulations, 2019, and the SON Act, 2015, and also 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 (NCS).

According to the association, such overlaps could lead to multiple registration requirements, duplicated approvals, conflicting enforcement decisions, higher compliance costs and uncertainty for businesses operating within the existing regulatory framework.

Among others, it criticised the proposed ceiling-list mechanism, which it said could give NAFDAC excessive administrative discretion to restrict products without adequate statutory safeguards and oversight.

Consequently, NECA urged the lawmakers to amend the bill to prevent unilateral regulatory decisions, clarify the responsibilities of relevant agencies and strengthen coordination among existing institutions.

Also opposing the bill on the grounds of conflicting and overlapping mandates, the Federal Ministry of Health said the proposed changes could create institutional conflicts.

The ministry, represented by the Director of Hospital Services, Dr Adebisi Adegoke, urged the lawmakers to defer consideration of the bill and allow broader consultations among the affected stakeholders on the extant regulatory responsibilities.

Equally calling for deferment for further review, SON said some of the provisions could conflict with its establishing law and interfere with its statutory responsibilities.

For their part, tobacco industry operators argued that manufacturing, importation, distribution, packaging, health warnings and product standards are already subject to extensive statutory controls.

They warned that parallel approval and enforcement structures could expose manufacturers and importers to conflicting directives, additional administrative costs, operational disruptions and uncertainty over regulatory authority.