Apologize to Lagosians on BAT MD’s visit, Group urges Governor Fashola

The Coalition Against Tobacco (CAT) has asked the Lagos State Governor, Raji Babatunde Fashola to issue an unreserved apology to residents of Lagos State for hosting the Managing Director of British American Tobacco (BAT), Keith Gretton last month, saying his action signaled unacceptable level of indifference to the public health hazards caused by increased youth smoking in the state.

Governor Fashola had, while hosting Gretton in his office at Alausa, praised BAT for allegedly creating jobs since it began operations in Nigeria, and added that the Lagos government would continue to maintain a conducive environment for the company and other businesses to thrive in line with its objectives of “aggressive investment” in infrastructure and security to improve the business environment.

In a statement issued in Lagos, Toyosi Onaolapo, National Coordinator of CAT however, said the silence of the Lagos State Governor following the outcry that greeted the visit of the BAT boss smacks of disrespect for the fundamental rights of Lagos residents to “ a sound, healthy environment as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which the Governor swore to protect.”

“Not only is the BAT MD’s visit to the Governor absurd, the silence of the Governor on the whole charade that the visit represents is also shocking” Onaolapo said.

She explained that: “For the Governor to prioritize profits over health is very disturbing because Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the first global health treaty under the auspices of the World Health Organisation (WHO), expressly identifies a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry interests and public health policy interests.

“It goes on to say that the tobacco industry produces and promotes a product that has been proven scientifically to be addictive, to cause disease and death and to give rise to a variety of social ills, including increased poverty. Therefore, Parties should protect the formulation and implementation of public health policies for tobacco control from the tobacco industry to the greatest extent possible.”

She added, “since Gretton’s visit to the Governor the media has been awash with editorials and articles blitz from faceless groups we believe have links with the tobacco companies in their bid to whitewash the public with lies”

She noted  that, “We are used to these antics because similar tactics were used by tobacco industry face groups in the period leading up to the Public Hearing on the National Tobacco Control Bill in 2009”

“We want to remind the governor that Article 5.3 of the FCTC which Nigeria signed in 2004 and ratified in 2005 requires that, in setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, Parties shall act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law. We daresay that in giving BAT a pat on the back, the Governor is inadvertently stabbing Lagosians on the back.

“We therefore join other civil society and health groups asking the Governor to stop further interactions with BAT and reject their Greek gifts. We also demand nothing but an unreserved apology from the governor for even granting a company that promotes a product that kills its users audience in the first place. Nothing short of this is acceptable,” she maintained.