DIBAN, labour unions protest NAFDAC’s sachet alcohol ban, warn of job losses and over US$2B investment risk 

NIGERIA – The Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) has urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to reconsider the implementation of the ban on the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets, warning that the policy could severely harm Nigeria’s economy and local investments. 

DIBAN led a coalition of civil society groups, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and workers from several beverage companies, to a second-day protest at NAFDAC’s Lagos office. The group said the ban would cripple investments and lead to widespread job losses across the alcoholic beverages value chain. 

Protesters converged on the agency’s premises carrying placards and calling on the Federal Government to intervene, saying millions of Nigerians depend on the sector for their livelihoods. 

Comrade Solomon Adebosin, Executive Secretary of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, a TUC-affiliated union, said the protest followed NAFDAC’s decision to enforce the ban on alcohol in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml, despite a directive from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to suspend all actions pending consultations. 

“Last week, NAFDAC announced that it had begun enforcement of the ban on the production and sale of alcohol packaged in sachets and polyethene terephthalate bottles across the country,” Adebosin said. 

“At this period of our economy, throwing over five million people out of their jobs and putting at least ₦3 trillion (US$2.13B) investment at risk will not augur well for our country.” he added. 

Adebosin argued that the policy disproportionately affects indigenous manufacturers. “With the trend and the target of the ban, it is clear that it is meant to frustrate local manufacturers out of the market. Unfortunately, this will have multiple negative effects on the economy as all the people engaged in the value chain of sales and production would be affected,” he said. 

He maintained that regulation, rather than prohibition, is the global standard. “Proper regulation through access control and advocacy are globally accepted as a sustainable approach,”  

Adebosin said, urging NAFDAC to deepen oversight instead of imposing a ban that could create “economic havoc for Nigerians”. 

Comrade Somefun Olamiye, Branch Chairman of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association in Lagos, also criticised NAFDAC’s leadership, accusing the Director-General of “misrepresenting facts” to justify the ban and insisting that claims of excessively high alcohol content in sachet products were false. 

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