Sustained political will among government and non-state actors in the policy space has been responsible for the recorded success at the federal level in the implementation of tobacco control policies. In addition, a few states have demonstrated substantial political will by enacting laws on the prohibition of smoking in public places. Given that majority of states are not politically motivated to adopt tobacco control measures, we seek to provide an understanding of what constitutes political will in Nigeria. In view of the concerns around the implementation of tobacco control policies, we also examine the factors that influence political will in order to leverage on positive forces and curb negative forces within the policy environment.