Senate considers bill to stop athletes from using performance drugs

The Senate yesterday passed for a second reading an executive bill tagged, “National Anti- Doping Bill, 2024 (SB.455)” during plenary.

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Sports and asked it to report back to the committee of whole in two weeks.

The bill seeks to domesticate and enforce in Nigeria, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) convention against doping in sports.

It also seeks to implement Nigeria’s obligation to the world anti-doping code, international standards and  related matters.

Recall that the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) had earlier introduced the bill to the Senate during plenary.

Daily Trust reports that the bill, if passed, would regulate substances that can be consumed by Nigerian athletes during sporting events.

It will be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had last week written the Senate, seeking for legislation against doping geared towards the prevention of Nigerian athletes from consuming performance-enhancing substances before or during sporting competitions.

In the letter which serves as an Executive Bill, the proposed “National Anti-Doping Bill 2024” will regulate substances that can be consumed by athletes during sporting events.

According to the President in the letter, the bill will provide a legal framework for the establishment of the National Anti-Doping Organisation, an organisation that regulates sporting competitions, just as he explained that the establishment of the agency was a requirement for Nigeria to achieve compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code.