Tension flared in the nation’s capital on Tuesday as members of the Coalition for Unemployed People in Nigeria (CUPN), led by Comrade Nathaniel Isiaku Balogun, staged a protest demanding the immediate sack of the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, over what they described as “gross incompetence and abuse of public office.”
The protesters, who converged on major streets in Abuja, accused the NAFDAC boss of illegally enforcing what they termed an arbitrary ban on sachet alcohol and 200ml PET bottle alcoholic products, allegedly in defiance of existing government directives and legislative resolutions.
Addressing journalists during the protest, Comrade Balogun said the coalition was “terribly appalled by the unwholesome activities” of the NAFDAC Director-General, insisting that the enforcement contradicts the National Alcohol Policy signed into law by the Federal Ministry of Health.
According to him, the action also disregards a presidential directive restraining the agency from further disrupting business premises of affected companies pending the outcome of a joint committee set up to review the matter.
“This hasty enforcement is counterproductive to the economic policy of the Renewed Hope Agenda and capable of stirring civil unrest, especially given its timing,” Balogun stated. “It is throwing the country into needless confusion due to conflicting directives from different government authorities.”
The coalition further argued that the move amounts to a flagrant disobedience of the resolution of the House of Representatives (Reference: NAS/10/HR/CT.33/77c of March 14, 2024), which, after a public hearing with key stakeholders, reportedly restrained NAFDAC from implementing the ban and described it as anti-people.
CUPN maintained that sachet and small PET bottle alcoholic products were introduced as affordable alternatives for low-income adult consumers and should not be criminalized. The group contended that smaller portions discourage abuse rather than promote it and emphasized that locally produced sachet alcohol is manufactured under hygienic conditions and certified by regulatory authorities, including NAFDAC.
The coalition also dismissed claims that sachet alcohol encourages underage consumption, stating that independent empirical research has allegedly contradicted such assertions. It added that industry operators have invested over a billion naira in nationwide campaigns promoting responsible drinking and discouraging underage consumption.
Balogun warned that the enforcement of the ban could lead to massive job losses across the value chain, negatively impact government revenue, and open the market to illicit and smuggled alcoholic products.
While affirming support for pragmatic measures to eliminate unsafe products from the market, CUPN insisted that regulatory decisions must be based on verified empirical evidence rather than “emotional persuasions.”
The protesters called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act swiftly in the interest of his administration and relieve Prof. Adeyeye of her duties, arguing that her continued stay in office is “no longer in the public interest.”
As of the time of filing this report, NAFDAC had not issued an official response to the protest or the allegations raised by the coalition.