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The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called on the Nigerian government to impose strict, legally binding restrictions on the advertising and promotion of unhealthy food and beverage products, particularly during festive periods, warning that unchecked marketing is driving a silent public health crisis.
CAPPA made the call on Tuesday in Lagos while presenting findings from its new report, Unhealthy Food Hijack of Festive Periods in Nigeria, which examined how food and beverage companies intensified the promotion of sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods during the 2025 Christmas and 2026 New Year celebrations.
The organisation demanded a comprehensive ban on festive-period marketing of unhealthy foods, stronger regulation of digital advertising, prohibition of branded corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in schools and religious spaces, and an increase in Nigeria’s sugar-sweetened beverage tax to at least 50 per cent of retail price.
According to CAPPA, industry self-regulation has failed and now serves more as a public relations shield than a meaningful safeguard for public health.
“Nigeria must decide whether its food environment will be governed in the public interest or surrendered to commercial priorities that externalise harm,” CAPPA said.
Presenting the report, CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said festive seasons have become high-impact marketing windows deliberately exploited to normalise the frequent consumption of products high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats.
“What we observed was not just celebration but deliberate market expansion,” Oluwafemi said.
“Festive periods were treated as opportunities to intensify brand visibility, associate unhealthy products with social meaning and drive consumption at scale, especially in low-income communities.”
He explained that between late November 2025 and early January 2026, CAPPA monitored marketing activities across physical spaces such as malls, parks, open markets, transport hubs and places of worship, as well as digital platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X.
The report found that companies deployed highly coordinated campaigns involving outdoor branding, sponsored events, community activations, donations and targeted digital advertising, consistently linking unhealthy products to togetherness, generosity, celebration and even moral virtue.
Speaking at the briefing, Zikora Ibeh, Assistant Executive Director of CAPPA, challenged the notion that unhealthy consumption is simply a matter of personal choice.
“People say it’s about choice, but what personal choice can you really have in a market that is already designed for you to consume these products whether you like it or not?” Ibeh asked.
She said Nigerians are being constantly exposed to unhealthy food advertising on roads, in markets, at transport hubs, on television and across social media platforms, often without clear warnings about health risks.
“These adverts are everywhere, and they are not just targeted at adults; they are also targeted at children,” she said. “Scientific research has shown that excessive consumption of unhealthy diets is linked to rising non-communicable diseases, and we are seeing more people suffer from conditions that were once considered rare.”
According to Ibeh, Nigeria is experiencing rising cases of hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and obesity, while access to diagnosis and long-term care remains limited and costly.
The organisation warned that low-income households are the most exposed to unhealthy marketing and the least protected from its consequences.
The report also criticised the use of corporate social responsibility initiatives as indirect advertising tools, noting that donations to schools, churches, markets and community organisations are often heavily branded and function as marketing rather than genuine charity.
CAPPA further highlighted the growing use of digital-first tactics such as influencer marketing, AI-generated content, scan-to-win promotions and hashtag challenges, which it said allow companies to hide advertising inside entertainment content and evade regulatory oversight.
As part of its recommendations, CAPPA called for mandatory front-of-pack warning labels for foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fats; a ban on marketing unhealthy foods to children; limits on outdoor advertising density; and stronger enforcement powers for regulatory agencies, including meaningful penalties for violations.
“Festive seasons should not come with hidden health costs,” Oluwafemi said. “Nigeria must reclaim its public spaces, regulate its food environment and place public health above corporate profit.”
Speaking on the findings, Humphrey Ukeaja, a healthy food advocate and Industry Monitoring Officer at CAPPA, said the festive period was marked by overwhelming saturation of public and digital spaces with adverts for sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods.
“From late November to early January, it was almost impossible to attend major events or move through public spaces without being confronted by festive branding from these companies,” Ukeaja said.
He cited campaigns such as Coca-Cola’s “Holidays Are Coming” truck tour, Nigerian Breweries’ large Christmas light displays and Gino’s “Christmas Village” activation, noting that these initiatives presented soda, malt drinks and salty seasonings as symbols of joy, gratitude and national pride.
Ukeaja also raised concerns about deliberate targeting of children and young people, pointing to the use of Santa characters, cartoon imagery, free samples and school-linked “donations” to familiarise children with sweet and salty products.
“Teenagers and young adults were heavily targeted through music festivals, online challenges and influencer campaigns that tied product purchases to entertainment and social belonging,” he added.
