The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) have said the ban on the production of drinks in sachets and small-sized bottles, would ruin over N800 billion investment in the sector as well as render 500,000 people jobless.
The associations, which disclosed this Friday in Lagos, said the enforcement of the ban by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) would have negative impacts on the economy.
The Director General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, called on the federal government to reverse the ban and replace it with regulations and access control, saying, most players in the sector are indigenous investors who have made huge investments including taking loans to finance their business.
“Besides and more importantly, the proposed policy would amount to unnecessary and avoidable debilitation of the business of local and indigenous investors who through thick and thin have kept faith with the Nigerian Economy. They have continued to invest and reinvest at enormous cost in the economy and in the Nigerian people who are the bulk of its nearly N500, 000 people workforce,” he said.
He called on the government to intensify its activities and support in the form of access control and tighten regulations as well as promote and protect the growth of local industries and jobs by tackling production of fake, counterfeit, and unwholesome beverages.
Executive Secretary of DIBAN, Mr John Ichue, who emphasized that the ban would not only affect the 500,000 direct workforce, but their dependents, called on NAFDAC to allow due process of full legislative hearings by the appropriate House Committee to take place, before enforcement of the ban.
