NECA, SON and health ministry ask Senate to rework proposed NAFDAC bill
- Employers' group NECA, SON and the health ministry have told the Senate the bill creating a new product registration regime needs changes.
- They warn it would duplicate approvals across NAFDAC, SON, Customs and the ministry, raising costs for businesses.
- NECA wants tobacco left out of the bill, saying existing tobacco-control laws already cover it.
Three major stakeholders have told the Senate that a bill meant to reshape how food, medicines and similar products are regulated in Nigeria needs more work before it becomes law.
The Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association (NECA), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare raised their objections at a public hearing and in written submissions to the Senate Committee on Health.
The Food, Medical Products and Related Products (Registration, Etc.) Bill, 2026, sponsored by Senator Umar Sadiq Suleiman, passed second reading in the Senate on July 21, 2026. It would replace the Food, Drugs and Related Products Act, 2004, with a new set of rules.
Why businesses are worried
NECA's main concern is that the bill would pull tobacco under the same rules as food and medicines. The employers' group says tobacco already has its own laws — the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015, and the National Tobacco Control Regulations, 2019 — and should stay out of the new bill.
The association warned that the bill as written would leave companies answering to several agencies at once: the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), SON, the Nigeria Customs Service and the health ministry.
In practice, that could mean registering the same product more than once, getting approvals from different offices, and facing enforcement decisions that contradict each other. NECA said the result would be higher compliance costs and less certainty for investors.
It also flagged a proposed "ceiling-list" mechanism, which it said could hand NAFDAC wide discretion to restrict products without enough checks or oversight.
NECA asked lawmakers to keep tobacco out of the bill, set clear boundaries between the agencies, and add safeguards against one regulator acting alone.
Ministry and SON want more consultation
The health ministry, which supervises NAFDAC, was represented at the hearing by Dr Adebisi Adegoke, Director of Hospital Services. She said the proposed changes could create conflicts and overlapping duties, and recommended that the bill be set aside for now so stakeholders can consult further.
SON took the same position. It said parts of the bill clash with the law that set it up and could interfere with its statutory work. It called for a fuller review, saying the drafting process did not involve enough consultation.
Tobacco industry operators also spoke against the bill. They said manufacturing, importation, distribution, packaging and health warnings are already tightly controlled, and that another layer of approval would expose them to conflicting directives and extra costs. They insisted their objection is not to public health regulation but to duplication they say has no clear benefit.
NECA said it is ready to keep working with the National Assembly to find a balance that protects public health without making the rules harder to follow.
What happens next: The Senate Committee on Health will weigh the submissions as it prepares its report on the bill. Its recommendation will shape how far the new framework goes and how it fits with existing laws on health, product standards and tobacco.
