RismadarVoice Reporters
January 27, 2026
Employees of companies producing sachet alcohol, alongside civil society organizations, have hinted at a possible nationwide protest if the ban on sachet alcoholic beverages and PET bottles below 200 milliliters is not reversed.
The workers made this known on Monday when they staged another protest at the Lagos office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) along the Oshodi–Apapa Expressway, just three days after an earlier demonstration.
The protesters, operating under the aegis of the Food, Beverages and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) and the National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), warned that the ban could affect more than five million Nigerians, directly and indirectly.
PUNCH Online reports that the Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, had engaged leaders of the unions after the initial protest but maintained that the ban would remain in force pending legislative changes.
At Monday’s protest, union members were joined by the Coalition for the Protection of Consumers’ Rights, carrying placards, chanting solidarity songs.
Speaking to journalists, the National President of FOBTOB, Oyibo Jimoh, said discussions with the House of Representatives were ongoing to develop a national alcohol policy that would protect all stakeholders without imposing an outright ban. He accused NAFDAC of sealing factories while policy deliberations were still ongoing.
Jimoh also faulted claims by the NAFDAC Director-General on the alcohol content of sachet beverages, describing them as misleading, said the unions were excluded from Senate deliberations that led to the factory closures.
Similarly, the NUFBTE Head of Brewery and Tobacco Department, Azeez Rasaq, warned that the unions could mobilise central labour bodies, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), for a nationwide protest.
“If the government continues to ignore our calls, it could lead to a nationwide protest. It is very possible,” Rasaq said.
Representing the civil society groups, Declan Ihekaira said the ban infringed on consumers’ rights and unfairly targeted low-income earners, adding that CSOs were prepared to mobilise nationwide if the policy was not reversed.
A company staff member, Biodun Adeyemi, said he supported a nationwide protest, warning that job losses would have severe consequences for families and dependants.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Chairman of FOBTOB, Olamiye Somefun, said the union might take its protest to the National Assembly if its demands were not addressed, urging lawmakers to intervene.
The Unions insist they will sustain pressure until the ban is reviewed.
