Why We Didn’t Picket NAFDAC Offices Nationwide After Expiration Of Our Ultimatum — TUC President
Following the end of the 14-day ultimatum issued to the National Agency For Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) by the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Congress has revealed why it did not picket the agency.
The TUC had on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, issued a 14-day ultimatum to NAFDAC to reverse the ban on sachet alcoholic beverages, or else it will picket all offices of the agencies nationwide to press home its demands.
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The ultimatum elapsed on Tuesday, February 27, 2023.
Findings by THE WHISTLER revealed that the agency was in full dispensation of its duties at the headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking to THE WHISTLER in an interview, the TUC President Comrade Festus Osifo said the warning was “not to picket NAFDAC but to bring out the Director-General from hiding.”
Osifo said the concept of ultimatum was widely misunderstood, noting that not all ultimatum issued was intended for strike or protest.
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He said, “You know, Nigerians always think that when you issue an ultimatum, you must go on strike, no, that’s not reality but the reason you issue warnings, is to drive the people out of their shelves”.
“The Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) tried to reach out to the DG of NAFDAC but she was nowhere to be found.
“When the ultimatum was issued, when the picketing happened, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Health, stepped in and brought out the NAFDAC boss.
“So she met with us and we have made some level of progress, compared to when the ultimatum was issued, Some of the factories that were shut have been opened, while some major decisions have been made”.
When asked if production of sachet beverages has commenced in the earlier sealed factories, Osifo replied, “I will not be able to confirm that 100 per cent”.
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He added, “We have started discussing mitigations and things to do to ensure that even when you produce those items, you also follow some of the environmental consequences and some of the hazards that NAFDAC is also trying to push.
“So there is a movement towards the middle point. Has it been resolved 100 per cent, no, but have we made sufficient progress since the last time ultimatum was issued, the answer is yes.”
