A bill seeking to repeal two existing food and drug laws and establish a single legal framework for regulating food, medicines and other products that affect public health passed the second reading in the senate on Tuesday.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Sadiq Umar, senator representing Kwara north, seeks to repeal the Food, Drug and Related Products (Registration, Etc.) Act and the Food and Drug Act, replacing them with the Food, Medical Products and Other Regulated Products Act.
Umar said the move will re-enact the bill as “a modern comprehensive statute for the regulation of food, medical products and other regulated products in Nigeria.”
‘EXISTING LAWS NO LONGER FIT FOR PURPOSE’
Leading the debate, Umar, who is a public health pharmacist, said the bill is designed to modernise Nigeria’s regulatory framework in line with emerging technologies and global best practices.
“The health of a nation is one of the greatest measures of its development,” he said.
