There was fear on Thursday as the Sabon Gari Local Government Area in Zaria, Kaduna State proposed a bill to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol within the local government area.
The hearing on the proposed bill to outlaw the sale and consumption of alcohol took place at the Sabon Gari Local Government secretariat where tensions were high.
Sabon Gari is an area in Zaria, Kaduna State reserved for non-natives.
Nigerians spent a total of N208bn on alcohol in 2016, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
A breakdown of the nation’s consumption pattern shows that the South-South zone consumed the most alcohol in the country, with N74.4bn spent on alcohol. This covers the states of Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross Rivers.
The Kano State Government has said that the ban of alcohol sales in the state does not contradict Nigeria’s constitution.
Dr. Abba Sufi, Director-General, Kano State Hisbah Board, an agency of the state government made the comments while responding to questions surrounding the recent seizure and destruction of over 30 trailer loads of beer in Kano State during the Christmas period.
The Kano State Hisbah Board has seized and destroyed more than 30 trailer loads of beer.
The Board’s Public Relations Officer, Malam Adamu Yahaya, disclosed this in a statement in Kano on Tuesday.
Yahaya said that the cartons of beer were destroyed on Monday evening after interception at Kalebawa on Danbata Road in Dawakin Tofa area.
The Niger State government has withdrawn licenses issued to liquor dealers in the state because of what it describes as the refusal of liquor dealers to follow guidelines set by the government for the sale of liquor.
The Niger State Liquor Licensing Board, the body that regulates sale and consumption of alcohol announced the outright ban in a statement signed by its chairman, Malam Muhammad Shafii.
The hospitality industry have called on the Kwara State Government to lift the ban on the sales, production and consumption of alcohol in the state.
They said the enforcement of such a law would have far reaching effect on the nation’s economy and the hospitality industry.
They spoke with newsmen in separate interviews on Friday in Lagos.
Kwara State Government has banned the sale and consumption of alcohol. Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, has signed into law a bill banning the sale and consumption of alcohol in certain areas of the state.
The bill known as the Prohibition Against the Production, Sale, and Consumption of Liquor in Certain Areas Law 2018, was passed by the State Assembly and signed into law by the governor.
