African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has accused President Bola Tinubu and other Nigerian politicians of adopting policy proposals he says he and his party have promoted for years.
Sowore made the allegation amid renewed attention to cannabis regulation following Tinubu’s transmission of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Bill, 2026, to the Senate for consideration.
In a post on X, the activist criticised politicians for allegedly taking up ideas they had previously ignored and presenting them as their own. He specifically cited the reported discussion of cannabis decriminalisation, saying he had advocated the position for years.
The proposed legislation seeks to repeal the existing NDLEA Act and the Indian Hemp Act, Cap. I16, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and establish a consolidated framework for drug enforcement. According to Premium Times, as cited by SaharaReporters, Tinubu forwarded the bill to the Senate on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, where it was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative action.
However, the proposed repeal of the Indian Hemp Act does not, by itself, establish that cannabis would become legal or decriminalised. The bill’s stated objectives include strengthening enforcement against the cultivation, processing, sale, trafficking and use of illicit drugs, leaving the precise implications for cannabis dependent on the legislation’s provisions and eventual passage.
Sowore has long advocated cannabis decriminalisation and regulation for medical and economic purposes. He has argued that a regulated industry could generate economic benefits, rather than relying solely on criminal penalties and the destruction of cannabis farms.
