Senate Advances Bill to Strengthen Regulation of Food, Vaccines, Drugs, Medical Devices

The Senate on Tuesday passed for second reading a bill seeking to overhaul Nigeria's food and drug regulatory framework by repealing the country's existing legislation and replacing it with a modern legal regime designed to strengthen public health protection and expand oversight of products regulated by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

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 debate on the bill during plenary presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Sadiq described the proposal as a critical reform aimed at strengthening Nigeria's capacity to regulate food, medicines and other products that directly affect public health.

He said the existing legal framework was enacted decades ago when food production, pharmaceutical manufacturing and healthcare technologies were far less advanced 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," Sadiq told lawmakers.

The bill seeks to establish a single, comprehensive statutory framework governing all products regulated by NAFDAC while eliminating obsolete provisions and updating the law to reflect current scientific and technological realities.

Unlike the existing legislation, which primarily covers food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices, the proposed law significantly broadens the agency's regulatory mandate.

Products to be covered include processed and packaged foods, processed animal feeds, active pharmaceutical ingredients, vaccines, medical devices, in-vitro diagnostic devices, tobacco products, chemicals, packaged water, home-care products and other products capable of affecting public health.

Sadiq noted that the emergence of biotechnology, biosimilars, advanced medical devices, artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostics, online pharmaceutical commerce and increasingly complex global supply chains has fundamentally changed the regulatory landscape.

He also warned that counterfeit medicine syndicates have become increasingly sophisticated, making stronger legal safeguards necessary.

The legislation introduces extensive provisions governing product registration, evaluation and monitoring throughout a product's lifecycle.

It provides for pre-market product evaluation before registration, post-marketing surveillance, continuous safety monitoring, supply-chain traceability and mandatory product recalls where public health is threatened.

For the first time, the bill also creates detailed statutory provisions governing clinical trials, performance evaluations and studies involving human participants.

To strengthen quality assurance, the legislation incorporates internationally recognised regulatory 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 the sponsor, these standards will ensure quality control is embedded throughout production, storage, transportation and distribution processes rather than relying solely on inspections after products reach consumers.

The bill also expands NAFDAC's statutory enforcement powers by providing stronger legal authority for inspections, investigations, product sampling, detention, seizure and recalls, while maintaining safeguards for due process and accountability.

Several senators supported the proposed legislation during the debate.

Senator Diket Plang (Plateau Central) described the bill as timely, particularly as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to boost agricultural production and improve food security.

He argued that food safety extends beyond production to include proper processing, preservation and packaging.

"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.

Senator Musa Garba (Kebbi South) also supported the bill but urged lawmakers to consider provisions recognising and regulating traditional medicine practitioners.

He said millions of Nigerians, particularly in rural communities, rely on indigenous medicines and argued that a legal framework should be developed to register, monitor and regulate traditional medical practice while encouraging local pharmaceutical alternatives.

Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin praised Senator Sadiq for drawing on his professional background as a pharmacist to sponsor legislation aimed at strengthening Nigeria's healthcare regulatory system.

Barau disclosed that the bill's sponsor had engaged extensively with NAFDAC before introducing the legislation and noted that the agency 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 encouraged continued consultations with the House of Representatives, the Executive and other stakeholders to facilitate the bill's eventual passage.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio also commended the initiative, expressing confidence that the planned public hearing would enable experts, regulators and industry stakeholders to strengthen the proposed legislation.

He added that suggestions regarding the regulation of traditional medicine practitioners should be considered during the legislative process to ensure broader stakeholder participation.

Following unanimous support during debate, the Senate passed the bill for second reading through a voice vote and referred it to the relevant Senate committee for further legislative work.

The committee is expected to submit its report within four weeks before the bill proceeds to the next stage of consideration.