Sachet alcohol ban: 500,000 jobs will be affected, says MAN

Segun Ajayi-Kadir, director-general of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), says the ban on sachet of alcohol will affect jobs.

Ajayi-Kadir spoke on Tuesday while he appeared on Arise Television.

On February 4, 2023, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) banned the production of alcohol in sachets and pet bottles of less than 200ml.

The announcement had led to various reactions, including from civil society groups.

Reacting to the ban, Ajayi-Kadir said it has no health implications but rather would have a negative impact on the economy.

“We are actually against the ban because it is not going to achieve the objective for which it was set out. That is the first thing. And the second thing is that yes, we were part of the agreement in 2018. But that agreement was premised on the fact that underage drinking was seen to be a concern,” he said.

“And that it was the major reason if not the only reason that was adduced at that time, but between 2018 and 2023 2024, we have seen significant reduction in underage consumption because of the series of actions that have been taken by processes that were done jointly with NAFDAC with the ministry of health with FCCPC and other stakeholders and of course, with a major role played by the band, which is the association of those who manufacture this product.

“So the major issue here is whether or not we should not have a win-win situation where we will have underage people not consuming alcohol, where we will have businesses that continue to run and provide value for those who have chosen to drink and have the capacity to take that decision, and whether we should not save more than 500,000 jobs and for the government  to also earn the much-needed revenue.”

According to Ajayi-Kadir, before the ban, the association, alongside other bodies, had carried out sensitisation which positively affected the intake of alcohol.

“We had billboards, we had radio jingles. We had direct consultations with schools, we engaged school principals and NAFDAC to go about educating people about responsible consumption and also even ensuring that within the premises of the schools, you do not have people selling this type of alcohol,” he said.

“I think we spent more than a billion naira during this process and we have seen significant progress to the extent that drinking was said to be at a level of 3.9 percent and we said that look, if we’re able to achieve this over this period, then you should just make the next push that will allow us to completely eliminate it because underage drinking is not the only malaise that you have in that space.

“There are so many other drugs that will even be more dangerous and that if you ban this, you are likely to expose them to older or wholesome drinks that may even come in smaller doses, and that will be more deadly. Not to mention the fact that we will have imported ones that will continue to come into the market. Seeing how badly we have performed with checking smuggling, they will certainly come into the market, and drive away the regulated ones.”

‘FOCUS ON THE ECONOMICS OF THE BAN’

Ajayi-Kadir said NAFDAC does not have any scientific basis for banning the products, as they are not illegal.

“I think it should be clear that if everything that you think is dangerous is banned, then after that we have no job,” he said.

“So I believe that everybody has to play his role. Alcohol is a legal product, you may like it, you may not like it, there are people who you will infringe on their rights if you ban it and there are people who will be very happy if you ban it. So I think we should focus on the economics of it and the fact that people have a right to their choices.”

Ajayi-Kadir said he does not believe that the health of the people will be helped if the ban is imposed, adding that the ban will endanger it.