The House of Representatives Committee on the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has told NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, to implement its resolution on the sale of sachet alcohol and lift ban immediately.
The House frowned at the non-implementation of its resolution saying the action of NAFDAC management was disrespectful to the Parliament, considering that the agency was duly served with the resolutions reached by the committee.
The Vice-Chairman of the committee, Hon. Uchenna Okonkwo stated this on Friday while briefing journalists at the national assembly complex.
Recall that the House of Representatives Committee on the National Agency on Food, Drugs Administration, and Control (NAFDAC) had suspended the ban on the sale of spirits and alcoholic drinks in sachets and pet bottles until further investigation.
He said, “The House in a resolution, NASS/CNA/35/VOL 4/100, dated 21st March, 2024 in consideration of report of the Committee on NAFDAC on the need to suspend the ban it imposed the sachet alcohol and less than 200ML pet bottles directed that the ban should be lifted because of wrong timing and unstable state of the economy where “unemployment rate is staggering and inflation rate is soaring, while the poverty is on the increase with paucity of FOREX to do business.”
“The ban on the production of the said beverages will cause more havoc and cause job losses for over 50 per cent of the workers in Nigeria.”
“But to my greatest surprise, no action had been taken to implement the resolution.”
“The agency had failed to comply with the directives, two months after it was passed, You need not be told that the parliament is the centrepiece of our democracy.
“If the Nigerian parliament that is the fulcrum and giant of African democracy is abused in this manner, the future of not only Nigeria, African democracy is doomed,” Okonkwo said.
He further stressed that the committee regretted the sudden deteriorating mutual relationship between the agency and the parliament, which according to him is counter-productive to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“We view the Director-General’s action as a direct affront on the rule of law and the people’s parliament.
“If this display of impunity is allowed to go through, it will set a dangerous precedent for future abuse and disregard for legislative directives,’’ he said.
The committee chairman also alleged that the NAFDAC boss’s action clearly suggested insensitivity to the plights of Nigerians.
The House directed that the ban be lifted because of the wrong timing and unstable state of the economy where unemployment rate is staggering and the inflation rate is soaring.
Okonkwo said the action was also informed by the paucity of FOREX at the time.