Members of the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria, alongside officials of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) and the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), on Friday staged a protest at the Lagos State office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) over the ban on the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets.
The protesters, who converged on the NAFDAC office in the early hours of the day, carried placards and sang solidarity songs, calling on the regulatory agency to reverse what they described as a policy that threatens local industries and millions of jobs.
Some of the placards bore inscriptions such as: “Stop destroying local manufacturers,” “N2 trillion investment deserves protection,” “5.5 million Nigerians cannot be pushed to the streets,” and “The Renewed Hope Agenda must work for all Nigerians.”
The demonstrators said the ban has already begun to take a toll on manufacturers and workers across the value chain, warning that continued enforcement could cripple indigenous distilling companies and discourage foreign investment in the sector.
MEETING OUTCOME
Following the protest, representatives of FOBTOB and NUFBTE held a meeting with the Director-General of NAFDAC over the agency’s recent actions, which include sealing off companies producing sachet alcohol and shutting down specific production lines for the affected stock-keeping units (SKUs).
The union leaders expressed concern that the action was taken despite a directive from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) asking the agency to stay further enforcement pending broader consultations.
Reacting to the development with Lawan Online News, FOBTOB’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Solomon Adebosin, said the NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, claimed during the meeting that she was unaware of any such directive from the SGF, adding that the sealing of the production lines was aimed at preventing children from having access to the products.
In a statement, the National President of FOBTOB, Comrade Jimoh Oyibo, encouraged the protesters not to relent as freedom is not given unless it is demanded. He stated that it appears there were some other hands behind this action of NAFDAC due to the flouting of the directive from the Office of the SGF.
He expressed surprise at the claim by the NAFDAC Director-General that the one-year moratorium given to discuss on and recommend the National Alcohol Policy was not to effect any ban.
However, representatives of FOBTOB and NUFBTE argued that the agency should instead adhere to the provisions of the Draft National Alcohol Policy, which recommends access control measures to prevent minors from purchasing alcoholic products, rather than an outright ban.
They warned that the ripple effect of the enforcement could lead to the loss of close to 5.5 million jobs across manufacturing, distribution, and retail segments of the industry.
The union leaders further cautioned that the development could undermine the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and send a negative signal to foreign investors being courted by the administration.
They called on NAFDAC and relevant government stakeholders to engage in dialogue with industry players and labour unions to arrive at a balanced regulatory framework that protects public health while safeguarding investments and jobs.
