The House of Representatives has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to enforce its resolution lifting the ban on sale of sachet alcoholic drinks.
Chairman, House Committee on NAFDAC, Mrs Regina Akume, restated the resolution yesterday at a press conference in Abuja. She maintained that immediate implementation of the resolution would calm frayed nerves among the teeming unemployed youths in the country.
The Benue-born lawmaker argued that timing of the ban on sale of sachet alcoholic drinks was inappropriate, considering the unemployment rate and the inflation trend in Nigeria.
Akume added that the poverty level is on the increase with paucity of foreign exchange to do business.She said instead of the outright embargo, the exercise should be replaced by prescribed regulations and access control such as establishment of licensed liquor stores and outlets in council areas across the federation.
The lawmaker advised NAFDAC to make it unlawful for the under-age to purchase alcoholic beverages, adding that there should be tighter enforcement by relevant agencies.
She said the legislation approach should encourage recycling of the materials for promotion of the green economy. Akume noted that the move minimises importation of raw materials and conserves foreign exchange.
