NAFDAC clears air as it renews enforcement of ban on sachet, pet bottled hot drinks, says only FG can halt the enforcement at present stage, amidst protest by union members

 

Some of the products seized by the officials at  the NAFDAC Investigation department, Apapa, yesterday, Friday January 23, 2026-by allcitynews.ng 

By allcitynews.ng 

As the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has resumed its suspended enforcement of the ban on sachet and pet bottled hot drinks at the expiration of the meritorious months given to manufacturers of the drinks, the leadership has insisted that the implementation of the raid can only be suspended by Federal Government and lawmakers.

According to her the clarity became imperative due to pressure through organised protests by Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), with solidarity from Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to halt the enforcement.

NAFDAC's DIrector General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has cleared the air as officials of the agency have commenced the implementation of enforcement of the ban on sachet and pet bottled hot drinks amidst the protest by union.

Addressing the media in her office on Friday in Lagos,  the NAFDAC DG Adeyeye, reiterated that the  implementation of the ban  can only be halted by federal government and the Senate as the  grace of five years and an months given them  have  elapsed. 

According to her, "at  this  stage people should know, that the  halt can only  come from  federal government, because we  are  only working  on the  guidelines given to us. That was what I told members of the unions that gathered at the front of my office to protest against our enforcement.  They should remember that we collectively agreed  with manufacturers and other  stakeholders for five years, then when  we wanted  to begin implementation, we agreed to give  them another more time from November last year.  Now that the period has  expired, we resumed the enforcement,  which can only be stopped at this stage by government,  Senate."

It would be recalled that some protesters led by workers from Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), with support by some members of NLC and TUC, assembled themselves at the front office of NAFDAC to protest against the enforcement.

The protesters, came with various placards with inscriptions such as “Stop destroying local manufacturers,” “₦2 trillion investment deserves protection,” “5.5 million Nigerians cannot be pushed to the streets,” and “The Renewed Hope Agenda must work for all Nigerians".

And it would also be recalled that the suspension of the enforcement last year was in accordance with directive by the Senate, which resolved that the manufacturers should end the production of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-sized bottles by December 2025. The resolution was reached after a motion sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, representing Cross River South senatorial districts.

And the President of National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) Comrade Ibrahim Garba, and President of Food Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB),  Comrade Jimoh Oyibo, while  addressing Labour Writers Association of Nigeria (LAWAN) in different occasions, expressed their concerns over the move.

Oyibo and Garba have continued to drum the great consequences that would follow the enforcement.

According to the duo, "the  same children the enforcement intends to protect, will become school dropouts if their parents, that have been thrown out of jobs due to the shut down of their workplace, would increase level of insecurity.

"Loss of huge investment by the manufacturers will send negative signs against new investors who would see this as another source of policy inconsistencies as the current investors got the approval from government before they spent huge sums to set up their factories and also, this woul act as discouragement that can stop new investors from investing,  due to government's policy somersault.

"Another side effects of  the enforcement are that, smugglers would seize this enforcement as opportunity to flood Nigerian streets with imported sachet and pet bottled hot drinks at exorbitant price, the same children will buy such, irrespective of cost, and government will lose revenues," Oyibo and Garba  argued.

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