NLC, TUC, others storm NAFDAC office to protest ban on sachet alcohol

Members of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have stormed the Lagos State office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to protest the ban on the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets.

The unions joined the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria, who were seen carrying placards and singing solidarity songs on Friday.

Some of the placards bore inscriptions such as “Stop destroying local manufacturers,” “N2 trillion investment deserves protection,” “5.5 million Nigerians cannot be pushed to the streets,” and “The Renewed Hope Agenda must work for all Nigerians,” among others.

On Wednesday, NAFDAC announced that it had begun enforcement of the ban on the production and sale of alcohol packaged in sachets and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles across the country.

The Senate had directed the agency to end the nationwide production of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small bottles by December 2025, following a motion by Asuquo Ekpenyong, senator representing Cross River South.

On the heels of the directive, NAFDAC announced that it would begin enforcing a total ban on the affected products by December 2025.

The decision elicited reactions from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and other civil society organisations, who said the ban could cost the economy trillions of naira and millions of jobs.

Speaking on Wednesday during a media briefing in Lagos, Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of NAFDAC, said the enforcement drive is aimed at protecting public health and vulnerable groups.

“The proliferation of high-alcohol-content beverages in sachets and small containers has made such products easily accessible, affordable, and concealable,” she said.