The Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) has protested the ban imposed on alcoholic beverages, pet and glass bottles of 200 ml by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The union, which is an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress, said more than 500,000 Nigerian workers work in distilling and blending companies.
During the protest at NAFDAC headquarters on Tuesday, the union urged the government agency to immediately reverse the ban.
National President of the union, Comrade Jimoh Oyibo, and Executive Secretary, Comrade Solomon Adebosin, spoke on behalf of the union during the protest.
NAFDAC, on February 1, 2024, commenced the enforcement of the ban on alcoholic beverages in sachets, PET, and glass bottles of 200ml and below.
This has led to the closure of some companies including the largest distilling and blending company in Nigeria, IDL.
Oyibo said: “Our association considers the NAFDAC action as a wilful and deliberate economic sabotage as the implementation is coming at a time when the economy is on a downward spiral.
It is instructive to state that workers in these companies pay various forms of taxes to the government at different levels while the companies in the sector also contribute significantly to the economy through job creation and taxes.
“The sector is a chain from the producer to the major marketers, distributors, and retailers. The impact on the families of millions of Nigerians who are dependent on these workers is indescribable.
“Another effect is that it will promote smuggling as unscrupulous elements will leverage this ban to flood the market with dangerous adulterated products given the porosity of our borders.
“Also, the ban will erode investors’ confidence in our economy. This should not be added to the hydra-headed challenges that our economy is facing already. We can also not overemphasise the effect of this ban on the security of the nation. This is because when people, who ordinarily have their jobs guaranteed are suddenly thrown out of work, they become easily amenable to vices in the quest to make ends meet.
“The ban is il-timed and il- advised because the Nigerian government should rather support businesses to stay afloat in this period of harsh economic environment which has led many companies to close down.
“Furthermore, the argument that the used-us sachet litters the environment can be easily addressed it the government invests in and encourages recycling. This will support the government’s plan to create jobs, which will in tum result in more revenue for the government in form of company and personal income tax.
“We are of the opinion that NAFDAC should concentrate on working with the relevant government agencies to prevent and confiscate smuggled products that have found their way to the Nigerian market via unguarded entry points. Our Association, FOBTOB, is available to partner with NAFDAC to regulate the industry and make our products safe for the public.
“The Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) calls for a reversal of the ban placed on the production of alcohol in sachets and pet bottles below 200 millimetres. The ban is ill-advised, ill-timed, and considered as an economic sabotage. The ban will lead to massive job loss, loss of investment, and loss of revenue for the government. FOBTOB is willing to partner with NAFDAC and other stakeholders to sanitise the industry.”
NAFDAC’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola in a statement, said the agency only banned alcohol in containers or packing that a child can easily conceal, i.e., sachet or PET bottles less than 200ml.
The statement said the ban only concerned alcoholic content in sachet or PET bottles less than 200ml.
The statement said: “The Association of Food, Beverage & Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) signed an agreement with Ministry of Health (MOH) and NAFDAC and FCCPC in 2018 December that they will phase out production of alcohol in sachet and PET bottles less than 200 ml by January 31, 2024. The agreement document is available. A five year phase out notice should be sufficient.
“Nigeria was one of the 193 Member States of WHO that reached an historical consensus on a global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol by adopted resolution WHA63.13 at the Sixty-third session of the World Health Assembly, held in Geneva in 2010.
“This was seven years before my time, an agreement signed by Nigeria with other nations that we will protect youth by making alcohol not easily reachable and accessible.”