How We Plan To Enforce New Laws on Sale of Alcohol in Nigeria, NAFDAC Reveals
- The 'police' arm of NAFDAC would be actively involved in the enforcement of the new law on the production and sale of alcohol in Nigeria
- This was disclosed by the director-general of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement on Monday, January 24
- Adeyeye also urged the association of distillers and brewers to educate young ones against the use of alcohol
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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said that it would depend on police officers across the country to enforce its recent ban on alcohol in sachets.
The director-general of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, said that the agency would no longer register alcohols in sachets, small PET volumes and glass bottles below 200 millilitres.
In a statement seen by Legit.ng, the agency said the recommendation to ban alcohol in small volumes followed a recommendation of a high-powered committee of the Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and Industry in December 2018.
Adeyeye said other members of the committee include the Association of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employers, and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria.
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She added that efforts are being made to ensure that the validity of the renewal of already registered alcoholic beverages does not exceed 2024.
Enforcing the new NAFDAC law
Speaking on enforcing the new law, Adeyeye said the association of distillers and blenders across the country have also been urged to educate Nigerians below 18-years of age against purchasing or consuming alcohol.
She said anyone who fails to adhere to the new law, will be handed over to the police arm of NAFDAC for immediate prosecution.
Adeyeye said:
“The final step is that anybody that does not comply with all the rules will be handed over to our own police arm for prosecution. We hand over irredeemable cases to the enforcement directorate.
“We have police personnel, who the IG gave us whenever we are going for arrests. So, if they refuse to follow the protocols, starting from the volume of alcohol and other things, they will be arrested by our own NAFDAC police.”
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Nigerians continue to find a way to stay happy despite the country's security and economic problems.
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The full reopening of hotels, bars, restaurants, and grocery stores has helped increase spending after a lockdown in 2020.
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The federal government lobbying for the reinstatement of excise duty on soft drinks, which was repealed in 1993 has been actualised.
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Source: Legit.ng
