The Trade Union Congress and the Food, Beverages and Tobacco Senior Staff Association organized a peaceful demonstration on Tuesday in opposition to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control order to close down factories producing alcoholic sachet drinks.

According to the report from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the protest unfolded outside NAFDAC’s headquarters at Plot 1, Industrial Estate, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Isolo, Lagos State. NAFDAC had issued a directive in 2018, instructing the cessation of manufacturing alcoholic beverages in sachets and bottles below 200ml starting from January 31, 2024. 

Moreover, in January 2022, NAFDAC suspended the registration of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles below 200ml.

The recent enforcement operation in Ota, Ogun State, conducted over two days resulted in the closure of several factories. 

The Vice-President of TUC, Mr. Emmanuel Idogen, expressed concern over the substantial loss of employment due to the shutdowns enforced by NAFDAC, highlighting the adverse economic impact amidst prevailing hardship.

While acknowledging NAFDAC’s regulatory role, Idogen criticized the agency’s actions as insensitive to the economic challenges faced by workers and their families. He emphasized the repercussions of mass layoffs during a period of inflation and economic strain, urging NAFDAC to reconsider its directive.

“We all know the economic hardship we are facing in the country presently. Price of fuel has increased, prices of food is increasing on a daily basis and there is inflation.

“Some of the people earn their living to feed their family and dependents from the factory that you have shut down.

“Invariably, there will be more families exposed to hunger and I believe this will have a negative impact on the society,” he said.

The vice-president said that many companies in the country, as a result of the harsh economic indices of doing business, had been under strain due to limited available jobs.

“And now, you want to lay off thousands of workers into the labour market that is already overstretched.

“What do you expect them to do in order to feed and cater for the needs of their family?.

“We are appealing to NAFDAC to suspend the directive to shutdown the production of alcoholic sachets drinks for the posterity of the masses,” he said.

Similarly, the Secretary of FOBTOB, Mr. Anthony Oyagua, lamented the loss of over 5,000 jobs and warned against exacerbating unemployment in an already saturated labor market. He appealed to NAFDAC to revisit its policy, emphasizing the broader economic ramifications and urging protection for the livelihoods of millions of Nigerians.

In response,  the Director of Drug and Evaluation Research at NAFDAC, Mr. Kayode Amuda,, reiterated the agency’s commitment to public health, particularly in combating the negative impact of alcohol consumption on youths and children. 

“Our critical focus is to protect the health of the nation because a lot of our children and youths have been made redundant as a result of easy access to these sachet drinks.

“We have been on the front burner of this message for long and have been telling the manufacturers about this impeding change but we keep on shifting goal post.

“However, we have to take a step toward enforcement and address this because it is ruining the life of our children and youths in the country.

“Our focus in NAFDAC is to put a stop to the production of alcoholic sachet beverages,”he said.