Ban on sachet alcohol: Group accuses NAFDAC DG of alleged workplace abuse
A civil society group, Involved Residents for Change, on Tuesday accused the Director-Common of the Nationwide Company for Meals and Drug Administration and Management (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, of high-handedness and clandestine actions in imposing what it termed an “arbitrary ban” on sachet alcohol and 200ml PET bottle alcoholic merchandise.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, the chief of the group, Comrade Haruna Adamu, mentioned the enforcement allegedly contradicts provisions of the Nationwide Alcohol Coverage signed by the Federal Ministry of Well being and a presidential directive restraining NAFDAC from additional disrupting the operations of affected firms pending the result of a joint committee assessment.
He additional argued that the company’s motion runs counter to the {economic} aims of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and will doubtlessly set off civil unrest on account of its timing and {economic} implications.
The group additionally referenced a decision of the Home of Representatives (NAS/10/HR/CT.33/77c of March 14, 2024), which, following a public listening to with stakeholders, reportedly restrained NAFDAC from continuing with the ban and described it as anti-people.
“We’ve approached the Senate and belief that the distinguished Senators will rethink the matter after wider consultations,” Adamu acknowledged.
Involved Residents for Change maintained that the production and sale of alcoholic drinks in sachets and small PET bottles had been launched to cater to low-income grownup shoppers and shouldn’t be construed as dangerous improvements. The group dismissed claims that sachet alcohol encourages abuse, arguing as an alternative that smaller parts discourage extreme consumption in comparison with bigger containers.
The group additional contended that domestically produced sachet alcohol merchandise are manufactured below hygienic circumstances and licensed by regulatory businesses, together with NAFDAC. It described assertions linking sachet alcohol to underage abuse as “untested and unverified,” claiming that impartial empirical analysis had countered such claims.
Adamu famous that business operators have invested over one billion naira in nationwide campaigns selling accountable alcohol consumption and discouraging underage consuming, which he mentioned have yielded important constructive outcomes.
Whereas expressing assist for measures geared toward eliminating unsafe merchandise from the market, the group insisted that regulatory selections have to be primarily based on empirical proof reasonably than sentiment. It warned that the enforcement of the ban may jeopardize jobs throughout the worth chain, encourage the proliferation of illicit and substandard merchandise, enhance smuggling, and lead to income losses for the federal government.
“The continued keep of Professor Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye in workplace is now not within the public curiosity,” Adamu declared, calling on President Tinubu, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to take away the NAFDAC DG at once.
NAFDAC has but to formally reply to the allegations as on the time of submitting this report.