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The Senate on Tuesday passed for second reading a bill seeking to repeal and re-enact Nigeria’s existing food and drug regulatory laws to establish a modern, comprehensive and unified legal framework for the regulation of food, medical products and other public health-related products in the country.
The proposed legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Food, Drug and Related Products (Registration, Etc.) Act, Cap. F33, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and for Related Matters, 2026 (SB.952),” is sponsored by Senator Suleiman Umar Sadiq (APC, Kwara North).
Leading the debate on the bill during plenary, presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the Kwara North lawmaker described the legislation as a timely intervention aimed at strengthening public health protection, combating counterfeit products, aligning Nigeria’s regulatory framework with international best practices, and enhancing the country’s competitiveness in regional and global markets.
Umar explained that the bill seeks to repeal the existing Food, Drugs and Related Products laws and re-enact them as a single, modern statute capable of addressing contemporary regulatory challenges in the food, pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.
According to him, the current laws were enacted decades ago when food production, pharmaceutical manufacturing and healthcare technologies were far less sophisticated than they are today.
“The health of a nation is one of the greatest measures of its development. Every government owes its citizens a fundamental responsibility to ensure that the food they consume is safe, the medicines they rely upon are genuine and effective, and that regulated products placed in the Nigerian market meet the highest standards of quality, safety and efficacy,” he said.
Senator Sadiq noted that the regulatory landscape has evolved significantly with the emergence of biotechnology, vaccines, biosimilars, advanced medical devices, in-vitro diagnostic technologies, artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostics, online pharmaceutical commerce and increasingly complex global supply chains.
He warned that criminal networks involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit medical products have also become more sophisticated, necessitating stronger regulatory mechanisms.
The bill proposes the establishment of a single statutory regime governing all products regulated by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), harmonising existing provisions while eliminating obsolete sections and modernising statutory language.
Unlike the existing legislation, which principally regulates food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices, the proposed law broadens its scope to include processed and packaged foods, processed animal feeds, medical products, active pharmaceutical ingredients, medical devices, in-vitro diagnostic devices, vaccines, tobacco products, chemicals, packaged water, home-care products and other regulated products capable of affecting public health.
The legislation further introduces comprehensive provisions for product evaluation before registration, post-marketing surveillance after registration, continuous safety monitoring throughout a product’s lifecycle, supply-chain traceability and mandatory product recalls where public safety is threatened.
For the first time, the bill also provides elaborate statutory provisions governing clinical trials, performance evaluations and human intervention studies.
Senator Sadiq said the bill institutionalises internationally recognised quality assurance standards, including Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Good Distribution Practice (GDP), Good Storage Practice (GSP), Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), among others prescribed by NAFDAC.
According to him, the standards will ensure that quality assurance is integrated into every stage of production, storage, transportation and distribution rather than merely inspecting products after they have reached consumers.
He added that the legislation modernises inspection and enforcement procedures by granting stronger statutory powers for inspection, investigation, sampling, detention, seizure and product recalls while ensuring due process and accountability.
The lawmaker argued that, beyond safeguarding public health, the bill would position Nigeria to strengthen its competitiveness within Africa and beyond by aligning its regulatory framework with globally accepted standards and facilitating international regulatory cooperation.
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“The enactment of this legislation will further strengthen the capacity of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control to discharge its statutory mandate efficiently, transparently and in accordance with international best practices,” he stated.
Contributing to the debate, Senator Diket Plang (Plateau Central) threw his weight behind the bill, describing it as timely, particularly at a time when the Federal Government is prioritising agricultural production and food security.
He stressed that quality food processing, preservation and packaging remain critical components of public health and economic development.
“We will have the food, but we must also know how our food is processed, preserved, packaged and kept for sale. If we are good in production and are not watching the process of packaging and quality control, it will go a long way in affecting the health of Nigerians and the economy of our products,” Plang said.
Similarly, Senator Musa Garba (Kebbi South) supported the bill but called for provisions recognising and regulating traditional medicine practitioners in Nigeria.
He argued that many rural dwellers rely heavily on indigenous medicines and advocated for a legal framework that would provide for their registration, monitoring and regulation.
He noted that such measures could also help reduce dependence on imported medicines while promoting indigenous herbal remedies.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin commended Senator Sadiq for leveraging his professional background as a pharmacist in sponsoring legislation aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare regulatory framework.
He disclosed that the sponsor had consulted extensively with NAFDAC, which supports the proposed reforms.
“It is not everyone that will bring his professional background to bear in working for the nation with such passion. He should be commended for what he is doing,” Barau said.
He urged the sponsor to sustain consultations with stakeholders, including the House of Representatives and the Executive, to facilitate the eventual passage of the bill into law.
In his remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio lauded Senator Sadiq and members of the Senate committee for their efforts towards strengthening food and drug regulation in Nigeria.
He expressed optimism that the public hearing would provide stakeholders with the opportunity to contribute towards producing a robust legal framework for the regulation of Nigeria’s health and pharmaceutical sectors.
The Senate President also humorously suggested that recommendations on traditional medicine raised during the debate should be considered at the public hearing to ensure inclusivity.
Following overwhelming support from lawmakers, the bill was passed for second reading through a voice vote presided over by Senate President Akpabio and subsequently referred to the relevant Senate committee for further legislative action, with a report expected within four weeks.
