Union protests, gives NAFDAC 14 days to reverse sachet alcohol ban

Workers of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Association protesting NAFDAC shutdown of production lines for alcohol in satchets and pet bottles, in Ota, Ogun State… yesterday. PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN

.Olota of Ota advises NAFDAC to rethink ban

Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB), yesterday, protested at the headquarters of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) against the ban on alcoholic beverages in sachets and small bottles below 200ml.

The union, which is an affiliate of Trade Union Congress (TUC), asked NAFDAC to reverse the ban within 14 days, warning that if the agency fails to reverse the ban, the protest would continue in all NAFDAC offices nationwide.

Speaking during the protest, the National President of FOBTOB, Jimoh Oyibo, who submitted a letter containing a five-point demand of the union to NAFDAC, stated that the ban was ill-timed and ill-advised, adding that the Nigeria government should rather support businesses to stay afloat in this period of harsh economic environment, which has led many companies to close down.

He lamented that the ban would affect the union, considering that a good number of the union members work in the distilling and blending companies.

Oyibo said that from available data, more than 5,000 Nigerians workers are in the distilling and blending sector of the country’s economy.
He noted that the ban by NAFDAC had led to the closure of some companies, including the largest distilling and blending company in Nigeria.

Addressing the union, the Deputy Director, Human Resources, NAFDAC, Mr Adeyemi Omolehin, said the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, was not available and promised to convey their message to her.
Recall that NAFDAC, on February 5, announced the ban on alcohol in sachets and small bottles below 200ml.

Adeyeye said that the move was aimed at discouraging its consumption by youths, who easily accessed the products in such containers at affordable costs.

Meanwhile, the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege, has called on NAFDAC to reconsider the ban, stating that it will have negative consequences on the economy.

He said: “This is not the time for any worker to be laid off, it is a crucial time in our economy and whatever will make people lose their jobs is unacceptable.
“We call on the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, to rethink, to look at the number of workers that will be sent into the unemployed world as I believe the disadvantage of banning these drinks at this point does not outweigh the advantages of exporting these products.”

The Olota made the call when the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), affiliated to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB), yesterday, protested at Ado–Odo/Ota Local Government Area in Ogun State against the ban on manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets by NAFDAC.

The workers protested at the palace of the Olota of Ota Palace, displaying placards with various inscriptions to convey their grievances and seek mediation from the Oba.