The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said it has discovered the site of an illegal factory in Akwa Ibom that makes and distributes adulterated alcoholic beverages.
The agency’s Director General, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, in a statement on Friday in Abuja, disclosed that the factory was discovered in Afaha Obong in Abak Local Government Area of the state.
The Federal Government has said it is reviewing excise duty rates on wines and spirits.
The review is coming nine months after President Muhammadu Buhari approved incremental tariff increase on alcohol and tobacco products.
According to a Tuesday report in Bloomberg, Paul Abechi, a spokesman for Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed, said in emailed response to questions, without giving a time frame.
London-based Kensington Distillers and Vintners Limited (KDV) has acquired the 1960 Rootz brand in Nigeria from AB InBev. The purchase includes the state-of-the-art manufacturing plant used to produce 1960 Rootz.
Kensington Distillers & Vintners said a new business name has been formed – Monument Distillers and the production facility will soon be moved from AB InBev’s Port Harcourt production facility to Lagos where Kensington Distillers’s offices are based.
Nosak Group has appointed Osaro Omogiade as the new Managing Director of Nosak Distilleries, one of its subsidiaries. This was disclosed in a statement by the Nosak Group on Thursday.
According to the statement, Osaro Omogiade is an experienced Manager in Process Engineering. He is an alumnus of Business School Netherlands, Nigeria (BSNN) and the Lagos Business School. He holds a first degree in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters in Process Engineering from the University of Lagos (UNILAG). He is also a member of the Nigeria Institute of Production and Operation Management and has held different positions in major manufacturing companies including, production, research/development, project and management of operations.
The National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for suspending the proposed tariff hike on locally produced alcohol and tobacco products.
The union said that the suspension of the initial plan by the Federal Government to increase excise tariff by more than 500% on spirits, wines and tobacco products saved over 165,000 jobs.
The Senate on Tuesday sought the assistance of the Federal Government to halt the implementation of a new excise duty rate on alcohol and tobacco that came into effect in June until all relevant stakeholders are adequately consulted.
The Upper legislative chamber said a pause would give all stakeholders in the beverage and tobacco industries an opportunity to agree on a consensus rate and implementation approach.
Stakeholders in the alcohol beverage industry on Monday declared their opposition to the recent 500% increase in excise duty rates on alcohol by the Federal Government.
The stakeholders, which includes the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), and the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers of Nigeria (AFBTE) expressed their displeasure over the rate hike to a Senate Committee on Finance at a public hearing on the matter.
The Federal Government will review the recent excise duty increase on locally produced alcohol, according to Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour.
In a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Press, Samuel Olowokere on Friday in Abuja, while receiving members of the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Joint Employers and Workers Association on a Save Our Soul (SOS) mission, the minister said the Federal Government will review the newly introduced 500% excise duty on locally produced alcohol beverages.
The Federal Ministry of Finance came out on Sunday to defend its newly enacted excise duty rates on alcohol and tobacco, saying that they are not targeted at local manufacturers.
In a statement released by the ministry’s Director of Information, Hassan Dodo, it said that contrary to claims in some quarters, the new excise duty rates, which came into effect from June 4, 2018, were not targeted at local manufacturers.
Alcohol manufacturers in the country are set to raise prices on their goods following the increase in excise duty by the Federal Government on the product which came into effect on Monday June 4, 2018.
According to a report on Friday by the Punch Newspaper, manufacturers said their price increase will take effect immediately and in tandem with the new excise duty regime ushered in by the government.
