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Employees of Nigeria’s distilling companies have cautioned that the continued ban on sachet alcohol beverages and PET bottles below 200ml could discourage foreign investors and undermine President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda.
On Tuesday, workers staged their fifth protest in 2026 outside the Lagos office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), condemning the repeated sealing of factories. The demonstrators blocked the agency’s entrance, chanting solidarity songs.
Speaking at the protest, Jeffery Igein, National Secretary of the National Union of Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Employees, accused NAFDAC of ignoring directives from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the National Security Adviser.
“There was a resolution recently that the status quo should be maintained. The ban should be put on hold because the alcohol policy has been signed, and there should be room for further discussion. By now, the NAFDAC DG should have magnanimously gone to those companies that were shut down and unbanned their products so activities can continue until further directives from the Federal Government,” Igein said.
He warned that the closures threatened jobs nationwide and could damage Nigeria’s reputation among foreign investors.
“This policy is not just threatening local manufacturers; it is threatening workers, about 5.5 million workers across different states. If foreign investors are seeing the way you are treating your citizens, what do you expect? If this protest goes viral outside the country, they will begin to ask if this is the same country they are being invited to,” he added.
Somefun Olamiye, Chairman of the Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Senior Staff Association in Lagos State, also criticised NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, for allegedly disregarding federal directives.
“These are companies that have existed for over 40 to 50 years in this country and have contributed massively to Nigeria’s GDP. Continued enforcement of the ban could worsen insecurity and lead to the loss of investments estimated at over ₦2.3 trillion,” Olamiye warned.
He disclosed that some firms had begun considering downsizing, with over 10,000 permanent jobs at risk.
The protesters appealed directly to President Tinubu to intervene, arguing that regulation rather than outright bans would better protect livelihoods.
NAFDAC, however, has maintained that there is no official communication from the Federal Government halting the ban, with Adeyeye insisting the agency is acting within its mandate.
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