By IGE ADEKUNLE

Oba Abdulkabir Adeyemi, Olota of Ota, Ogun, has appealed to National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to reverse its ban on alcoholic beverages in sachet and PET bottles below 200ml.

Adeyemi made the appeal while addressing factory workers protesting the ban of the products on Tuesday at his palace in Ota.

He said the government should reconsider the ban based on the several benefits of the products to the manufacturers and contribution to the economy.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that workers under the Distillery Unions continued their protests around Ota where majority of their factories are located in Ogun on Tuesday.

The protesters marched through major roads in Ota, drawing the attention of passersby and those that patronised the products.

Adeyemi said there was need for NAFDAC to revisit its ban on alcoholic beverages below 200ml and PET bottles as the benefits outweighed the disadvantages.

He said the products could be exported to other countries to generate revenue and employment for the teeming youth.

“I think NAFDAC should have a rethink as these sachets and PET bottles could be exported to West African countries and European countries, which in return would earn revenue for the country.

“The regulator can make other laws to protect the health of Nigerians but not to impose a total ban on the products as this would increase the crime rate in Ogun and the country at large,” he said.

Adeyemi assured the people that he would inform the government about their grievances and plead for a review of the ban.

NAN reports that the Enforcement Department of NAFDAC, Lagos, had on Feb. 2 carried out a two-day enforcement exercise in Ota, after the five-year directive to stop the production of alcoholic beverages in sachet and PET bottles below 200ml expired on Jan. 31. (NAN)

Update news