The House of Reps Committee on the National Agency on Food, Drugs Administration, and Control (NAFDAC) has ordered the suspension of the ban on the sale of spirits and alcoholic beverages in sachets and pet bottles.
This suspension comes pending the outcome of the Reps committee’s investigation into the matter.
Chairman of the Reps Committee on NAFDAC, Rep. Regina Akume, made this announcement in Abuja following a public hearing on the ban of these products on Friday.
Akume stressed that there are proper steps to take before implementing such bans, emphasizing the need to establish Access Control Procedures in place.
According to Akume, these procedures are crucial to prevent children and youths from accessing and consuming the alcoholic contents of sachets and pet bottles.
She said the committee was entrusted with the essential responsibility and effectiveness of NAFDAC for the creation of employment and enhancing economic growth.
ALSO READ: Gombe recovers ₦1.5bn from 523 ghost workers
She promised to reach a level playing ground between NAFDAC and manufacturers that would not be detrimental to children or public safety.
Speaking earlier, the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the ban was imposed to protect the health and welfare of children, youths, and other vulnerable groups.
“We tried to protect the market, and that was why we agreed to a five-year moratorium for the manufacturers to phase out alcoholic drinks in sachets and pet bottles in December 2018.
According to her, it is a ministerial directive and not unilaterally made by NAFDAC, and the expiration of those five years has come.
Adeyeye said that, despite the agreement on the ban on alcohol in sachets and pet bottles, it was shocking to NAFDAC that the campaign from manufacturers was mounting.
She said that a lot of issues could have been solved before now, adding that the agency was not against the production of alcoholic drinks but alcohol in sachets and pet bottles, to wade off children from unnecessary access.
“The World Health Organisation had a resolution in 2010, in which Nigeria was a co-signer, that each country will have alcohol that is less reachable and less accessible to the youth, and nothing has been done about that until now.
ALSO READ: NAFDAC warns Nigerians over fake paracetamol injection
“It is very unfortunate we are where we are now because the children who are used to taking alcohol will also become vulnerable to drug abuse.”
Adeyeye said that as a result of the alcohol in sachets, about “30 percent of our children now take alcohol casually.”
She, however, said the market that was going to be lost, as expressed by the manufacturer, would be about 30 percent because such could be easily concealed in the pocket.
Also speaking, the Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Segun Kadilimni, however, said there was no major basic disagreement between it and NAFDAC.
He added that MAN remained committed to protecting the youth and children from accessing alcohol.
ALSO READ: NCDC confirms Lassa fever outbreak in Kaduna; intensifies response efforts
Kadilimni said the issue remained how to protect the under saying: “We have realized that there is a process to get there but banning the product will be counterproductive.”
According to him, this is because you are going to open the market to producers of illicit drugs, and these are people you cannot control.
“I believe if we work together, we will be able to eradicate underage access. These sachets are not produced for children but for adults, and they have been warned not to consume them.”
The committee, however, adjourned indefinitely.
NAN
