Workers in the beverage sector on Tuesday staged another protest at the office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control in Lagos, opposing the continued enforcement of the ban on sachet alcohol and small-volume PET bottles.
The protesters, operating under the umbrella of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, gathered at the agency’s premises along the Oshodi–Apapa Expressway, blocking the entrance and preventing vehicles from gaining access.
Carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs, the workers demanded the reopening of sealed factories and the release of products held by regulators. Some of the inscriptions read, “Stop destroying local manufacturers,” and “NAFDAC should release our products.”
One of the demonstrators said the enforcement of the restriction was threatening jobs across the sector.
“We are here because thousands of workers could lose their livelihoods if this policy continues,” he said. “We want the authorities to listen to us and reconsider the implementation.”
The protest marks the fifth such action by industry workers this year, reflecting growing tensions over the restriction on sachet alcohol beverages and PET bottles below 200 millilitres.
Although protesters insist they were informed that the Federal Government asked regulators to suspend enforcement, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, has previously stated that no official directive to halt the policy had been received.
