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By Zika Bobby
The Food Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FB&TSSA), an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), yesterday accused the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye of a ‘sinister agenda’ aimed at dismantling indigenous wine and spirit industries.
The allegation was levelled by Comrade Solomon Adebosin, Executive Secretary of the union, during a protest at the NAFDAC office in Lagos.
The demonstration targeted the agency’s recent enforcement of a ban on alcohol in sachets and small PET bottles.
The labor union expressed bewilderment over NAFDAC’s decision to move forward with enforcement.
According to Comrade Adebosin, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) had previously directed that the ban be suspended to allow for a comprehensive review of its economic implications.
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”We wonder why, despite the SGF’s call for a hold on this policy, the Director-General has moved to enforce it,” Adebosin stated.
The union warned that the stakes are catastrophic for the Nigerian economy, citing the following projected losses of over 5 million direct and indirect positions at risk., with approximately ₦3 trillion in industrial capital facing liquidation.
At the protest ground, labour leaders asserted that the policy disproportionately targets indigenous producers, who rely on these packaging formats more than multinational competitors.
Adebosin argued that total prohibition is not the global standard for managing alcohol consumption, as he advocated for access control and advocacy as more sustainable, globally accepted methods to resolve the current impasse.
Echoing these sentiments, Comrade Azeez Rasaki, speaking for the National Union of Food, Beverages & Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), warned that NAFDAC’s actions run counter to the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He noted that the ban undermines federal objectives regarding job creation, industrial growth, and the support of local enterprises.
