Beverage Workers Protest Ban of Sachet Alcoholic Drinks in Lagos

Say jobs of 500,000 Nigerians on the line

Raheem Akingbolu

Nigerian workers under the auspices of Food Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association and National Union of Food Beverages yesterday took to the streets in Lagos to protest the ban on sachet alcoholic drinks by the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The workers, who trooped out in their hundreds, displayed placards with various inscriptions and insisted that the ban would again throw out a lot of Nigerians into the labour market.

Some of the inscriptions included: ‘NAFDAC, Our Jobs Are on the Line’; ‘NAFDAC, don’t Worsen Nigerians’ Hardship’; ‘All We Need is Good Regulation, Not Total Ban’, and other similar messages.

The protest, which began under the Iyana-Isolo Bridge, saw the workers through adjoining streets, singing different solidarity songs.

On getting to NAFDAC office, where their leadership addressed the public, including staff of NAFDAC and journalists, the workers appealed to the agency to reconsider its stand in the interest of the economy, arguing that the current move would cripple the sector and lead to huge economic loss for their employers.

According to the demonstrators, rather than an outright ban on sachet alcoholic beverages, NAFDAC could come up with better regulatory and quality control policies that will put things under check.

The agitators also argued that the move by NAFDAC will give more room to counterfeiters to run riot, thereby putting the health of Nigerians at risk.

In a statement issued after the protest, Vice Chairman, Lagos Council of NUFBTE,  Emmanuel Idogien, said the impact of the policy on families and economy in general will be severe if not properly checked.

He said: “As we speak, over 500,000 persons are on the verge of losing their jobs as a result of the move by NAFDAC.

“Already, many companies supplying raw materials to the industry are feeling the heat. Production has stopped in many places and this is a dangerous situation for the workers, who have families to feed and cater to.

“We are not against NAFDAC safe guarding the health of Nigerians. What we are saying is that rather than throwing away the baby and the bathwater, new strategies can be adopted by the agency to regulate and monitor quality control in the industry. This will sanitise the system and ensure the safety of consumers as intended.

“But if this ban is enforced outright, apart from the massive job losses, we would have empowered counterfeiters to now run riot and put the health of everyone at risk.

“We are, therefore, calling on NAFDAC to rescind the decision on total ban because of the far reaching implications.

“There is hardship in the country already, Nigeria cannot afford to have over half of a million people thrown out of employment at once. Let us think about the dependents of these workers who will suffer greatly if this situation persists. We must not allow this.”

NAFDAC had through its Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, last Monday announced that enforcement will begin on the ban on importation, manufacture, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets, PET and bottles of 200ml and below as a result of the non-registration of such products by the agency.