‘No Going Back On Enforcement Of Ban On Sachets Alcohol Drinks’

Amid protests by members of sachet alcohol drinks distillers under the aegis of Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), the National Agency of Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has said it is not going back on enforcement of the ban of the sachet drinks.

Addressing journalists in Lagos, the director-general of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed that the implementation of the ban could only be halted by the federal government since the five years grace period has elapsed.

“At this stage, the halt can only come from the federal government because we are only working on the guidelines given to us. That was why I told members of the unions that gathered to protest against our enforcement. We collectively agreed with manufacturers and other stakeholders for five years. Then, when we wanted to begin implementation, we agreed to give them another one year which expired this month.

So, to call for enforcement at this stage can only be from the government.”

Earlier, some labour union workers came to protest at the front of NAFDAC office over the implementation.

The protesters, made up of Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), on Friday, staged a protest at the Lagos office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control over the agency’s enforcement of a ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets.

The protesters, joined by representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), carried placards with inscriptions such as “Stop destroying local manufacturers’’. ‘’₦2 trillion investment deserves protection’’. ‘’5.5 million Nigerians cannot be pushed to the streets,” and “The Renewed Hope Agenda must work for all Nigerians.