Sachet Alcohol: Reps want enforcement of NAFDAC ban resolutions

The House of Representatives has told the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to enforce its resolution asking it to lift the ban on sachet alcohol and PET bottles.

Rep. Regina Akume, Chairman, House Committee on NAFDAC, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

NEWSVERGE reports that the House had earlier urged NAFDAC to lift the ban on sachet alcohol and PET bottles.

“The ban should be lifted because the timing is inappropriate, the economy is struggling, the unemployment rate is staggering, and the inflation rate is soaring’’, Akume said.

She also said that the poverty level was on the increase with paucity of forex which frustrate business activities.

She said rather the ban should be replaced with enforcement of prescribed regulations and access control such as establishment of licensed liquor stores and outlets in Local Government Areas nationwide.

She said NAFDAC should make it unlawful to send under aged people to purchase alcoholic beverages, adding that there should be strict enforcements of the law by relevant agencies.

She also advocated increased monitoring and compliance checks by NAFDAC, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), and others to ensure product quality and safety compliance.

She said the legislation approach should be adapted to encourage recycling of the materials for the promotion of the green economy.

This, she said, would go a long way in minimising importation of raw materials used in producing these PET bottles and sachets, thus conserving the forex.

It would be recalled that the House had resolved that the ban was counter-productive and against the spirit and letters of the Constitution and also against the Economic recovery Plan of the current administration.

This, according to the House, is sequel to the numerous economic challenges confronting poor Nigerians.

The House said the ban on the production of the said beverage would cause job losses and increase economic difficulties.