Nigeria: Committee Set Up to Enforce Smoking Ban
Daily Trust (Abuja)
3 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo, has set up a committee to enforce the ban on smoking in public places in the FCT from June 1.
A statement by Mr. Muhammad Hazat, the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister yesterday in Abuja, said the committee would be coordinated by the FCT Social Development Secretariat headed by its Secretary, Mrs. Felicita Banehita-Olajide, with eight members.
According to the statement, the minister said the committee is expected to embark on an aggressive public awareness campaign from May 1, to effectively sensitise the public.
"The anti-smoking law is already in existence as an Act which the FCT administration will exploit to sanction offenders through prosecution in the law courts," he added.
NAN reports that the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Act was enacted by the Federal Government during the tenure of the former Minister of Health, late Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti.
Modibbo said the FCT Administration could also effectively use the "Public Health Act" to prosecute offenders, and urged residents to cooperate with the administration to build a world class city. (NAN)