Employees of the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria On Tuesday staged a protest at the Lagos office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control in the Isolo area of the state.
According to Channels, the association members were seen with placards with many inscriptions such as ‘Let poor Nigerians breathe’, and ‘Let beverage workers breathe’, amongst others.
Tuesday’s protest was the latest in the string of demonstrations since February 1, 2024, when NAFDAC started enforcing the ban on alcoholic beverages in sachets, and glass bottles of 200ml and below.
NAFDAC boss Mojisola Adeyeye had said no such beverages were registered with the NAFDAC.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control had insisted that there was no going back on the ban on the importation, manufacture, distribution, sale, and use of alcoholic beverages in sachets, PET, and glass bottles of 200ml and below.
NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, insisted that the ban was for the benefit of Nigerians and to save lives.
Adeyeye’s announcement on January 31 that NAFDAC would begin the enforcement of the ban on alcoholic beverages in sachets had generated repeated protests by distillers and labour unions, who said the move would cost 500,000 workers their jobs.
