Posted by The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control’s (NAFDAC) Director General, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, has come under fire from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) for allegedly working with multinational corporations to destroy local alcohol production companies in Nigeria.
The call was made by Ogun State leaders of the NLC and TUC in opposition to NAFDAC’s decision to halt the production of alcoholic beverages in sachet packaging.
Remember that NAFDAC outlawed the manufacturing, distribution, and retailing of alcoholic beverages in 200 ml or less glass bottles, sachets, and pet containers.
NAFDAC closed several production facilities for breaking its mandate in order to enforce the ban. Labor unions and distillers have protested this repeatedly across the nation.
Participants in the demonstration at the Ogun State House of Assembly included unions and members of the Food Beverages and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) and the National Union of Food Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBE), who expressed their disapproval of the development.
Along with chanting solidarity songs, the demonstrators carried banners and placards bearing a variety of messages, including “Don’t create another problem, don’t make us jobless in this biting economy,” “Our industries must not die of wicked policies MAN save our industries,” and “NAFDAC don’t take away our work.”
Speaking to Speaker of the Assembly Hon. Oludaisi Elemide, TUC Chairman Hakeem Lasisi bemoaned the fact that the prohibition will result in the loss of over N800 billion in industrial investment as well as the forced unemployment of over 500,000 workers.
“We think this policy is anti-people; Nigerians do not support it,” he declared. The decision to consume alcohol is a personal one, and a significant portion of this industry’s revenue comes from the sale of sachet alcohol.
Nigerians will be severely impacted by this prohibition, particularly Nigerian laborers. These enterprises employ over 500,000 people directly and over 2 million people indirectly. The direct workers will return to the workforce, while the indirect workers will lose their jobs.
“Even the Ogun State government will be impacted by the prohibition because these companies pay billions of naira in taxes into the government’s coffers, which will reduce the state’s internal revenue.
“Investment of approximately N800 billion in these enterprises would be lost as a result of this restriction. The packaging material sectors that provide these alcoholic beverage manufacturing enterprises with materials will also fail.
We argue that this strategy is anti-people and that Prof. Moji Adeyeye, the Director General of NAFDAC, ought to be suspended for allegedly conspiring with foreign corporations to undermine local and indigenous industry. This is not acceptable to us.
“Adeyeye needs to leave. She has conspired with global corporations to devastate the regional economy. The NAFDAC’s arguments against the manufacturing of alcoholic drinks in sachets are unfounded.
In an effort to salvage the manufacturing industry, NLC Chairman Hammed Benco also urged Congress to pressure NAFDAC to abolish the prohibition.
In response, the Speaker begged the Federal Government to reevaluate the prohibition and pledged that the Assembly will step in.
The Speaker declared, “Even though the federal government decided to impose the ban, we will let them know what and what pleases us. We are in a very critical moment in this country.”
Following their march, the demonstrators went to Oba Adedotun Gbadebo’s palace, the Alake of Egbaland, where labor union delegates had a private meeting with the monarch.