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Emilokan, propaganda economics and the gathering storm
Close to six million Nigerians are set to lose their jobs due to the decision of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to commence the enforcement of the ban on alcohols sold in sachet in the country.
The alarm was raised by members of the Food, Beverages and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) and the National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), who warned that the enforcement would displace no fewer than 5.5 million Nigerians from their jobs.
At the Lagos office of the agency, where they converged to register their grievances, the two unions, affiliates of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), warned about the consequences of throwing such a huge number of Nigerians in the job market.
Arguing that such a move was not only counter-productive, but antithetical to the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu not only to curb the massive unemployment in the country but to boost the Nigerian economy, as well as reduce hunger, the members called for a rethink, especially as the government had already intervened on the matter.
The protest came on the heels of announcement of the agency that it had commenced enforcing the ban on the production and sale of alcohol in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml, a plan it unveiled on November 11, 2025, with commencement date initially fixed for December 2025, in line with a directive from the Senate.
Reports say, the Federal Government, had actually halted the mover through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), which called for an immediate suspension of all actions and measures related to the proposed ban, pending consultations and a final directive.
Apparently ignoring the SGF, Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC Director-General, had told reporters on Wednesday, that it received a matching order from the Red Chamber of NASS to proceed and that enforcement had already commenced.
But railing against the move Solomon Adebosin, Executive Secretary of FOBTOB, while alerting that the enforcement would displace no fewer than 5.5 million direct and indirect jobs, stressed that the policy undermined Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, seeking to attract investment into the country.
Debunking the agency’s claims that sachet alcohol and PET drinks were accessible to minors and children, he said there was no credible information to back it up and it lacked empirical facts.
His words: “We are here today to protest the sudden seizure of our companies in the distillery sector by NAFDAC concerning the issue of sachet drinks and PET bottles that are less than 200ml.
“We have 500,000 Nigerians working directly in this sector and over five million working indirectly, and they are going to be affected. Access and control are what we should be talking about. Let us be able to put control on these things such that children and minors do not have access to them. We have continued to invest in advocacy and sensitisation to prevent unqualified persons from consuming their products.”
Echoing the position, Azeez Razaq Head of Department, Brewery and Tobacco, of the NUFBTE, stressed that the actions of NAFDAC, depicted deliberate sabotage of the growth of indigenous manufacturers and a violation of the Federal Government’s directive.
Emphasising that the ban would lead to shutting down the companies, concomitant job losses, and ultimately worsen insecurity in Nigeria, he said it would not augur well for Nigeria for anyone to think of creating more troubles for Tinubu.
Anthony Oyagha, a member of FOBTOB, while presenting details of the union’s demands, insisted that NAFDAC must toe the line of Tinubu’s policies of creating jobs for Nigerians and boosting the economy in addition to boosting local production.
His words: “We call on the Presidency to urgently intervene to ensure that NAFDAC aligns its actions with government policy, legislative oversight, and the broader national interest.
“Local manufacturers deserve honour, protection, and partnership, not punitive measures that destroy investments, livelihoods, and confidence in Nigeria’s business environment.
“We respectfully urge Mr President to act decisively to safeguard indigenous industries, protect jobs, and ensure that regulatory agencies serve the Nigerian people and not external interests.”
Executive rascality cannot be discountenanced in the alteration of the new tax laws passed by the National Assembly last year, the House of Representatives, said on Friday, as it claims that there are at least three versions of the document currently in circulation.
Victor Afam Ogene, spokesman of the House Minority Caucus, who initially unveiled the discovery of “illegal” alterations in the gazetted copies of the tax reform laws, earlier in the day, upped the ante later in the night, attributing the move to “overzealousness and executive rascality.”
A guest on News Night, a late night programme on ARISE NEWS Television, told his host that there were actually three versions of the document as a result of the decision of some people in the executive branch of government to tamper with the clean copy passed by the National Assembly.
Hear him: “You can easily point to overzealousness by some officials on the executive side, which in summary you could tag as executive rascality. A lot of times people think that when you bring executive bills, the bills should return to you as was sent.
“Then we should simply be – I don’t want to use rubberstamp – we cannot be garbage in garbage out. That is why 360 of us sit in that assembly, and there are processes in law-making – first reading – second reading – public hearings – then it comes back to the committee of the whole and then harmonisation between the House and the Senate and then the Clerk of the House prepares a clean-copy that is sent to the President.
“In doing so, ensure that it is what is passed by the National Assembly. This tax law went through all these processes. It is the duty of the executive to publish the gazzetted law. The Nigerian Printing Press is under the Federal Ministry of Information. So, it is their remit to publish the laws.”
Ogene, Chairman of the seven-member committee set up by the caucus to probe the alleged alterations, had initially raised the alarm about the alteration while submitting the interim report based on an initial signal by Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the House on December 17, last year to that effect.
On December 17, Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the lower legislative chamber, alleged that there are differences between the tax laws passed by parliament and the gazetted copy available to the public.
The alleged alteration sparked public outrage, with some Nigerians calling for a suspension of the implementation of the laws.
On December 16, the leadership of the senate and house of representatives directed Kamoru Ogunlana, clerk of the national assembly, to work with relevant agencies in the executive branch in a bid to re-gazette the tax laws.
The tax laws are the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025.
On January 3, the green chamber released the gazetted copy of the tax laws for public scrutiny.
‘ILLEGAL ALTERATIONS’
Ogene said the directive of the leadership of the red and green chambers to the clerk to “take steps to align” the Acts passed by the parliament with the federal government printing press to ensure accuracy, conformity, and uniformity is a “clear indication that there were some procedural anomalies in the previously gazetted version that illegally encroached on the core mandate of the national assembly”.
The lawmaker said Kingsley Chinda, minority leader of the house, constituted a committee on January 2 to thoroughly investigate the “scandal.”
He said the committee comprises lawmakers from the six geopolitical zones — Aliyu Garu (Bauchi), Stanley Adedeji (Oyo), Ibe Osonwa (Abia), Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa), Shehu Fagge (Kano), and Gaza Jonathan (Nasarawa).
Ogene said preliminary findings, based on a comparison of the certified true copies (CTCs) released by the house and the gazetted copies, indicated that the laws were altered.
“There were three different versions of the documents in circulation, particularly the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025,” the statement reads.
“The Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), 2025, has a number of discrepancies from the version passed by the National Assembly and the version earlier published in the official gazette. These discrepancies are obvious, going by the released Certified True Copies (CTCs) by the House referenced earlier.”
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He said under section 29(1), the version certified by the national assembly set the tax compliance reporting threshold at N50 million for individuals and N100 million for companies, but the gazetted copy lowered the threshold for individuals to N25 million and altered the threshold for companies.
“This is a clear case of the executive undermining legislative powers by illegally altering an already passed law to drag more taxpayers into the net,” the legislator said.
In section 41, Ogene said the gazetted version introduced new subsections 41(8) and 41(9), which require taxpayers to deposit 20 percent of the disputed tax amount as a condition for appealing decisions of the tax appeal tribunal to the high court.
Ogene said the provisions were not included in the version passed by the national assembly.
He said in section 64, the gazetted law “illegally increased the powers of the tax authority to include the power to arrest individuals suspected of tax violations through law enforcement agencies, and allowed for the sale of seized assets without a court order”.
Ogene said in section 3(1)(b), the version certified by the national assembly defined federal taxes to include income tax, petroleum income tax, stamp duties, and VAT, but the gazetted copy removed petroleum income tax and VAT from the definition of taxes administered by the federal government.
“We consider this an affront to the exclusive powers of the national assembly to make laws,” he said.
The lawmaker said section 39(3) of the gazetted law was “illegally altered” to mandate that tax computations for petroleum operations be carried out in US dollars, contrary to the version passed by the national assembly, which provided that tax calculations be done in the currency of the transaction.
In sections 30(1)(d) and 30(3) of the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, Ogene said the version passed by the national assembly empowered lawmakers to summon officials, demand reports, and enforce accountability in line with their constitutional oversight role.
The lawmaker said the gazetted version deleted the provisions requiring quarterly and annual reports to parliament, describing it as a disregard for the national assembly and the doctrine of checks and balances.
“Given the anomalies, illegalities, and impunity observed, which clearly undermine the national assembly’s constitutional powers and democracy, the committee finds the current evidence sufficient to warrant a deeper investigation,” Ogene said.
“This will ensure accountability for the affront against the legislature. To achieve this, the Committee respectfully requests an extension to conduct a more thorough examination of the matter.”
An Oyigbo High Court of Rivers State in Port Harcourt has adjourned indefinitely the suit filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, challenging the impeachment process initiated against them by the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Justice Florence Fiberesima of the Oyigbo High Court took the decision after being informed that two separate appeals had been entered in respect of the matter. The adjournment, the court held, would allow the Court of Appeal to first determine the issues before it.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to the Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, and 27 lawmakers, S.I. Amen, (SAN), notified the court of the pending appeals and applied orally for a stay of proceedings.
The application was not opposed by counsel to the claimants, Paul Orikoro (SAN) nor by Lawrence Oko-Jaja (SAN), who represents Victor Oko-Jumbo, Orubienimigha Timothy, and Sokari Goodboy, the other defendants in the suit.
Justice Fiberesima consequently adjourned the matter sine die, pending the outcome of the appeals.
The development comes amid an earlier interim injunction granted by the same Court, which restrained the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, several lawmakers, the Clerk of the House, and the Chief Judge of the state from taking further steps toward the impeachment of the governor and his deputy.
The injunction barred the forwarding or consideration of impeachment notices or related documents for the purpose of constituting an investigative panel over alleged gross misconduct.
Rivers CJ Declines Assembly’s Request
Meanwhile, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon C. Amadi, has declined a request by the Rivers State House of Assembly to constitute a seven-man investigative panel to probe allegations of gross misconduct against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Nma-Odu, citing subsisting court orders and a pending appeal.
Justice Amadi’s position was conveyed in a formal letter addressed to the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, acknowledging receipt of two separate requests from the legislature dated January 16, 2026.
The requests were made pursuant to Sections 188(4) and 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), following resolutions of the House to initiate impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy.
But he said, “By the doctrine of ‘lis pendens’, parties and the court have to await the outcome of the appeal,” the letter read in part.
“In view of the foregoing, my hand is fettered, as there are subsisting interim orders of injunction and appeal against the said orders. I am therefore legally disabled at this point from exercising my duties under Section 188(5) of the Constitution in the instant.”
According to the Chief Judge, the Assembly’s requests were accompanied by extensive documentation, including copies of the notice of allegations of gross misconduct, the Rivers State Impeachment Panel (Conduct of Investigations) Procedure, 2025, and relevant newspaper publications.
However, Justice Amadi disclosed that his office had earlier been served with two interim injunctions issued by the Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo on January 16, 2026.
The suits—OYHC/6/CS/2026 filed by the Deputy Governor and OYHC/7/CS/2026 filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara—listed the Speaker and 32 others as defendants, with the Chief Judge named as the 32nd defendant.
The interim orders expressly restrain the Chief Judge from “receiving, forwarding, considering or howsoever acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or other communication” from the House of Assembly in relation to the impeachment process for a period of seven days. Certified true copies of the court orders were attached to the correspondence.
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