The Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) has called on the federal government to operationalise the Tobacco Control Fund.
President of the alliance, Akinbode Oluwafemi, who made the call at a press briefing yesterday, said Nigeria, being one of the 182 parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) which had pledged to take action to reduce the impact of tobacco in their countries, was yet to fulfill the pledge.
He said, “Sustainable funding is critical to pursuing this objective. This is what informed the inclusion of the provision to establish a Tobacco Control Fund in the NTC Act, 2015, to ensure the protection of public health from the destructive effects of tobacco in Nigeria.
“The continued delay in the operationalisation of the fund is tantamount to self-injury on the federal government. Revenue which should accrue to the fund from the issuance of licenses to tobacco manufacturers and distributors is being lost.”
Oluwafemi further decried the unavailability of an operational account for the payment of licensing fees, which according to him, makes the operations of tobacco manufacturers, importers and distributors in the country illegal, due to lack of licenses to back their operations.
He urged the Federal Ministry of Health as the primary executor of the National Tobacco Control Act, to step up to its responsibility and make the Tobacco Control Fund fully operational as soon as possible.
He also urged the Central Bank of Nigerian (CBN), Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to set up an account to ensure that the revenue loss is closed, and the fund is running as prescribed by the NTC Act, 2015.
