Many petty traders and retailers of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) across the country have protested the continued enforcement of the ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small containers below 20cl by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
 
The traders said the enforcement, particularly the confiscation of their stock, was crippling their businesses and cutting off a major source of their daily income.
 
During a recent protest in Ibadan, Oyo State, the retailers expressed concern over the economic hardship caused by the enforcement, saying many of them had invested loans and personal savings in their businesses.
 
The spokesperson for the Concerned Drink Sellers, Distributors and Traders Across Nigeria, Oluwatosin Adebisi, appealed to President Bola Tinubu, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, and lawmakers across the 36 states to consider the plight of the traders.
 
Adebisi said many of the affected traders had taken bank loans to establish and run their businesses, adding that they should not be made to bear the consequences of issues beyond their control.
 
“We don’t sell alcohol to minors, as we also know the implications as parents. Our means of livelihood should not be taken away as a sacrifice for what we are not responsible for,” he said.
 
Another retailer, Adekemi Lateef, said traders should not be blamed for minors’ access to alcohol.
 
“Any minor exposed to alcohol has such exposure from their parents and not sellers. We should not be held responsible for parental failure,” she said.
 
Similarly, Bukola Ayeni appealed to the Federal Government and NAFDAC to reconsider the enforcement strategy and protect the livelihoods of small-scale traders and distributors.
 
“We humbly appeal to the Federal Government and NAFDAC to consider our plight as petty traders and distributors whose livelihoods depend on this industry,” she said.
 
Ayeni said the enforcement had severely affected many businesses, leaving traders struggling to survive.
 
Responding to the protesters, the Deputy Director and Head of NAFDAC’s South-West Zonal Office in Ibadan, Isaac Kolawole, assured them that their concerns would be communicated to the Director-General of the agency for consideration.