Local distillers alongside labour unions have vowed to continue their protests at the head office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Lagos, over the agency’s recent enforcement actions on sachet alcoholic beverages and PET bottles below 200ml, vowing that there will be ‘no retreat nor surrender.’

The protest, which entered its second day on Friday, was renewed after a stakeholder meeting with the agency and employees, under the aegis of the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) and the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB), failed to reach an agreement. The protesting workers lamented the sealing of their factories, accusing the agency of ‘breach of agreement.’

On Thursday, they prevented staff of the agency from accessing their offices, saying they would not work if distillers were not allowed to work either.

Speaking with The Guardian, the National Deputy President, FOBTOB, Jimoh Oyibo, said they would continue to do all in their powers to protect the sector and its members including lawfully resisting the ban as well as the agency’s high handedness.

“We are in Lagos (meeting with NAFDAC) and Abuja (at the health ministry) simultaneously, trying to resolve this issue. We are trying to meet with the health minister to fix a comprehensive stakeholders’ meeting to find a permanent solution outside of an outright ban.”

Noting that the industry and Nigeria could not afford an outright ban, he said such an action would negatively affect the workers and the economy.

“I have said it several times and I am repeating it here again, the NAFDAC DG, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, is trying to kill this sector.

She said she wants to solve a problem but she is creating an even bigger one. She claims that children have access to sachet alcohol and it is destroying their lives. But I am telling the whole world that NAFDAC has not shown us single empirical evidence to support this claim, despite the fact that we have asked them to repeatedly.

“The manufacturers are not targeting children and the idea of selling in smaller packs was due to economic reasons, that is, adults that cannot afford to buy the big bottles. We have been engaging in constant nationwide campaigns, warning about the dangers of underage drinking. Our manufacturers clearly state on the products and adverts that the drinks are not for people below 18 years. We run campaigns in schools and different public spaces, warning that children must not have access to alcohol.”

However, a study conducted by the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) and NAFDAC between June and August in 2021 on underage drinking and abuse of alcohol in Nigeria and uploaded on the agency’s website on February 3 this year, revealed that 54.3 per cent of minors and underage obtained alcohol from various sources.

The study also noted that 49.9 per cent of the 1,788 individuals sampled patronised retailers of drinks sold in sachets and PET bottles.