The House of Representatives and NAFDAC have agreed to temporarily lift the ban on the sale and consumption of sachet alcoholic beverages in the country.
This decision will be in place until the economy fully recovers. The initial ban was issued by NAFDAC due to worries about drug abuse, particularly among young Nigerians.
The House Committee was tasked with investigating the ban on February 7, 2024.
The decision to lift the ban temporarily was made after a meeting between the House Committee and NAFDAC officials, as announced by Deputy House spokesman Philip Agbese.
He said, “We all agreed at the meeting that at a certain stage in history, we must move on with our counterparts across the globe. Nevertheless, at the moment, we agreed with NAFDAC that there would be a temporary lifting of the ban until the economy regains its strength.”
Speaking on how the decision was arrived at, Agbese who represents Ado/Ogbadigbo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency, Benue State, said, “We had engagements with stakeholders, including NAFDAC and the organised private sector involved. Resolutions were reached at that meeting based on the submissions made by the stakeholders, civil society organisations and other interested parties.
“Part of the recommendations before the parliament was that the ban was not timely given the current economic realities and coupled with the fact that the five-year moratorium granted by NAFDAC to the private sector, the advent of COVID-19 and other economic realities we are facing today did not permit the operators in the industry to comply with their terms.”
