Tension between labour unions and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, entered its seventh day on Thursday the 26th of February, 2026, as members of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, FOBTOB, protested at the agency’s Isolo office in Lagos.
Chanting “No work for us, no work for you,” demonstrators barricaded the entrance as early as 7:00 a.m., stopping workers from gaining access for close to two hours.
Activities at the facility were put on hold until officers of the Nigeria Police Force from the Odi-Olowo Division arrived and restored entry around 11:00 a.m.
The protest was calm, with no violence recorded.
Union leaders said the action would continue until their demands are met, including the reopening of sealed factories and the withdrawal of layoffs that followed.
“This is Day 7, and we are not backing down. We will continue until our concerns are acknowledged,” Jeffery Igein, National Secretary of FOBTOB said, reflecting the sentiments of the hundreds of workers gathered outside the office.
The protest stems from NAFDAC’s enforcement of a ban on sachet alcohol and 10cl PET bottled products, a move that has triggered the shutdown of several local factories, depots, and warehouses nationwide.
Addressing protesters, TUC Secretary, Comrade Anthony Oyaga, criticized the enforcement drive under Director-General Mojisola Adeyeye, calling it damaging to local businesses.
“Indigenous manufacturing facilities are being shut down indiscriminately. Factories, depots, and warehouses, including those storing lawful products unrelated to the banned items, are being sealed. This is not regulation; it is deliberate economic strangulation,” Oyaga said.
Union representatives warned that the closures are already costing jobs and placing pressure on households. They said the effects are spreading across the value chain, affecting transporters, suppliers of raw materials, distributors, retailers, traders, artisans, warehouse workers, and logistics operators.
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“An economy cannot thrive when industries are closed instead of being properly regulated,” Oyaga added, cautioning that prolonged shutdowns could worsen youth unemployment and fuel social instability.
FOBTOB appealed for intervention from President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, state governors, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and civil society groups.
“We are not criminals. We are workers, producers, parents, and taxpayers. We are Nigerians,” the statement read.
The unions are pressing for the immediate reopening of affected facilities and are calling for dialogue and regulatory engagement in place of what they describe as punitive enforcement.