Distillers on Tuesday barricaded the office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in protest over the enforcement of the sachet alcohol ban.
The protesters, under the aegis of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, blocked the entrance of the NAFDAC office along the Oshodi-Apapa expressway.
They accused the agency of sealing companies following the ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and polyethylene terephthalate bottles below 200ml.
Placards displayed during the protest read: “Tinubu does not want jobs to be lost, “stop destroying local manufacturers,” and “NAFDAC should release products put on hold.”
The demonstrators also sang solidarity songs while preventing vehicles from gaining access to the complex.
The protest comes weeks after the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria picketed the agency over the same policy. The earlier action had the backing of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.
NAFDAC had announced the commencement of nationwide enforcement against the production and sale of alcohol in sachets and small PET bottles.
However, the agency previously dismissed claims that it shut down alcohol-producing companies. According to NAFDAC, “The agency did not close down any company that makes alcohol. The agency only banned alcohol in sachets and small containers less than 200ml.”
The development has heightened tensions between regulators and manufacturers over job losses and the future of small-scale alcohol production in the country.