The Food, Beverages and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) on Tuesday stormed the headquarters of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) protesting the banned imposed on alcoholic beverages in sachets pet and glass bottles of 200ml, and bellow.
The members of the union, who stormed the NAFDAC office in Wuse Zone 1 Abuja, demanded an immediate reversal of the ban and begin consultation with stakeholders in the sector.
The workers who were seen carying placards allege that the ban has push her members into unemployment
Some of the placards reads”NAFDAC your policy is anti workers,” we want immediate reversal and begin consultation with stakeholders ” and many others .
Also in a protest letter which was jointly signed by the president of FOBTOB, Comrade Jimoh Oyibo and Executive secretary Comrade Solomon Adebosin said the action of NAFDAC has led to the sacking of her members who are working in these companies.
The protest letter which was also sent to the Chairman, House of Representative Committee on Food, Drugs, Administration and Control said rather of the ban, called for an Improved campaign on responsible drinking and discouraging of underage alcohol consumption.
They also demanded an effective monitoring of entry points (borders) to reduce smuggling of products into the country and also recommendation by the Committee on legislation to encourage recycling of materials for the promotion of green economy.
The letter reads “The Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) is a registered Trade Union in Nigeria and an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria with a members up of over 8.000. A good number of our members work in distilling and blending compares. From available data, more than 500,000 Nigeria workers are in the distilling and blending sector of our economy.
“The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on February 1, 2024, commenced the enforcement of the ban on alcoholic beverages in sachets, PET. And glass bottles of 200mIi and below.
“This has led to the closure of some companies including the largest distilling and blending company in Nigeria IDL. Our Association considers the NAFDAC action as a willful and deliberate economic sabotage as the implementation is coming at a time when the economy is on a downward spiral.
“It is instructive to state that workers in these companies pay various forms of taxes to the government at different levels while the companies in the sector also contribute significantly to the economy through job creation and taxes.
“The sector is a chain from the producer to the major marketers, distributors, and retailers. The impact on the families of millions of Nigerians who are dependent on these workers is indescribable. Another effect is that it will promote smuggling as unscrupulous elements will leverage this ban to flood the market with dangerous adulterated products given the porosity of our borders.
“Also, the ban will erode investors’ confidence in our economy. This should not be added to the hydra headed challenges that our economy is facing already’’.
