Union urges Senate to reconsider ban on sachet alcohol, says N1trn investment, 500,000 jobs at stake
By Eberechi Obinagwam
National President of Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB), Comrade Jimoh Oyibo, has appealed to the Senate to invite relevant stakeholders to a public hearing before the ban on sachet alcohol drink takes effect.
The president during a press conference on Tuesday at its head office in Lagos said the aim is to hear the other side and be adequately educated to make an informed decision before going ahead to ban sachet alcoholic drinks and beverages in containers less than 200ml, including pet and glass bottles.
He also encouraged the Senate Committee to have an on-the-spot assessment by visiting these companies to have a firsthand understanding of the huge investments that will be laid to waste if the order on the ban is carried out.
He added that the concept of sachet packaging came as a result of the need to cater for those with lower purchasing power who can’t afford to buy beverages in bottles.
Listing out its economic implications, he said the industry stands to lose two trillion naira in investments and over 500,000 direct jobs, plus an estimated 5 million indirect jobs, if the ban is effected.
Comrade Oyibo recalled that this ban was earlier imposed by NAFDAC sometime last year which made their union with the strong support of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) embark on protests to NAFDAC, Ministry of Health and the National Assembly.
With the protest, he said they were able to get the attention of the House of Representatives, who called for a Public Hearing of all stakeholders to submit their positions on the issue.
He explained that after painstakingly going through the presentations by all concerned stakeholders, including NAFDAC, the House of Representatives directed NAFDAC to rescind the ban and further engage with the manufacturers and other players in the industry.
“This led to the Ministry of Health – which incidentally is the supervising Ministry for NAFDAC – to issue a directive for a one-year extension during which a draft National Alcohol Policy would be considered by stakeholders to address all the underlying issues.”
“It may interest you to note that this draft National Alcohol Policy was validated by the Committee set up for that purpose, with NAFDAC representatives included, in October 2025 (just last month). It is therefore, concerning that the same NAFDAC approached the Senate who has reportedly directed that NAFDAC should implement a ban on the sachet alcoholic beverages,” he added.
Also, he said unlike the House of Representatives that called for a Public Hearing to ensure an informed resolution was made, the Senate appears to have listened to only one side. “This is clearly against the principles of fair hearing which advocates that the other side must also be heard,” he said.
According to him, part of the issues raised by NAFDAC was that alcohol was being abused by minors. However, he said, several empirical research independently conducted by the government, have dismissed this claim.
“Irrespective of this outcome, the industry invested over a billion Naira for campaigns and advertisements across the nation to promote responsible alcohol consumption and discourage underage abuse of the products; and these campaigns have been impactful in discouraging alcohol consumption by under-aged persons,” he said.
He emphasised that government will lose revenue that would have come from the taxes to be paid by those who will lose their jobs if the ban is effected.
