Employees of the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) gathered at the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) office in Lagos on Tuesday to stage a protest. The citizens assembled at the NAFDAC office located in the Isolo area of the state, carrying placards with various inscriptions, including messages like ‘Let poor Nigerians breathe’ and ‘Let beverage workers breathe’.
This protest is part of a series of demonstrations that began on February 1, 2024, when NAFDAC started enforcing the ban on alcoholic beverages in sachets, as well as glass bottles of 200ml and below. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, had stated previously that no such beverages were registered with the agency.
On February 13, 2024, the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association of Nigeria demanded that NAFDAC lift its ban on sachet alcohol within 14 days. Affiliated with the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the association made this demand during a protest held at the NAFDAC headquarters in Abuja. Members of the association warned that if no action is taken, they would escalate their protests to other NAFDAC offices throughout the country.
