Mark Rules Out Compromise On Anti-Tobacco Bill

Senate President, David Mark, on Monday denied an allegation that the National Assembly was bribed to pass the tobacco control bill.

He spoke while opening a two-day public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Health.

Mark said no senator could collect any bribe because of the sensitive nature of the bill.

He said, “Every senator will answer his name. It is not a bill that will call for a voice vote. Everyone will be made to say yes or no so that the public will know where we stand on the issue.

“For a serious bill like this to go through the next reading, people will have to really say where they stand.

“We must begin to accept that Nigerian legislators are patriotic. They don’t need to be bribed before they do their job.

There is much rumor in air. If you have a strong case make your case, when you fail to make your case, then you go with the excuse that people have been bribed.

“Any bill that comes here will pass through the normal process.”

Urging the committee to be fair to opinions from the stakeholders at the public hearing before reading a conclusion on the bill, Mark said. “We stand between health and economy; that is the truth of the matter on the ground. People who are against it are worried about the impact on the health of Nigerians. People who are for it are saying that the nation stands to benefit from it.

“The simple question is when do you begin to worry about economy? Is it when you are dead or when you are alive?

“I admit that there are lobbyists on both sides. No doubt about that. The manufactures are lobbying many people in the country. They have a strong lobbying group all over the world.

“The key issues are health versus economy. How many jobs can we provide from the tobacco industry? How many people are going to lose their jobs if the tobacco industries are not producing?

“If the tobacco industries here close down, will it stop Nigerians from smoking, is one thing, getting the industry going so that people can be gainfully employed is another thing.”

The British American Tobacco (BAT), represented by its Head of Regulatory Affairs, Mr Tony Okwoju, said the regulation was meant to reduce the impact of smoking on public health.

But the said regulation should not be used to “force law-abiding businesses out of operation and leaving the market at the mercy of smugglers”.

The representative of the World Health Organisaton (WHO), Dr Soyinka, said the industry had impacted negatively on the nation’s health.

Tobacco farmers Associations from Oyo and Abia states said about 500,000 Nigerians would lose their jobs if tobacco is banned in the country.

The committee chairman, Senator Iyabo Obansanjo Bello said: “There is no doubt about the health effects of tobacco.

“The world has come to a consensus that there are some detrimental health effects of tobacco.”