Workers in companies producing sachet alcohol, alongside civil society groups, have rejected the ban on sachet alcoholic beverages and PET bottles below 200ml, warning of a possible nationwide protest if the policy is not reversed.
The workers, under the umbrella of the Food, Beverages and Tobacco Senior Staff Association and the National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees, staged a protest on Monday at the Lagos office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.
The demonstration came days after an earlier protest, during which the workers complained that the ban was disrupting production activities and threatening millions of jobs.
They insisted that no fewer than five million Nigerians could be affected directly and indirectly by the policy.
Despite engagements with the unions, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, had maintained that the ban would remain in force until there was a change in legislation.
At Monday’s protest, union members, joined by representatives of the Coalition for the Protection of Consumers’ Rights, carried placards and chanted solidarity songs while calling for the immediate reopening of sealed factories.
Speaking to journalists, the National President of FOBTOB, Oyibo Jimoh, said discussions were ongoing at the National Assembly to develop a national alcohol policy that would accommodate all stakeholders without imposing an outright ban.
He accused NAFDAC of undermining those efforts by sealing factories while legislative engagements were still in progress, adding that claims about the alcohol content of sachet beverages were misleading.
Also speaking, the Head of Brewery and Tobacco at NUFBTE, Azeez Rasaq, said the unions would not hesitate to mobilise workers nationwide if the government failed to address their concerns.
According to him, labour centres such as the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress could be drawn into the matter if job losses persist.
Representing the civil society groups, Declan Ihekaira said the ban infringed on consumers’ rights and disproportionately affected low-income earners, warning that the groups were ready to mobilise protests across the country.
A factory worker, Biodun Adeyemi, said he was prepared to participate in a nationwide protest, stressing that the loss of his job would have devastating consequences for his family.
Similarly, the Lagos State Chairman of FOBTOB, Olamiye Somefun, said the unions might take their protest to the National Assembly if their demands were ignored, questioning whether the policy aligned with the Federal Government’s economic agenda.
