Baba Negedu 
Hoteliers and Beer Parlour Proprietors Association of Nigeria (HBPPA), Sabon Gari Local Government Area, of Kaduna State, yesterday dragged the council area to court over plans to outlaw the sale and consumption of alcohol in the area. The hoteliers had on June 11, through their counsel; Mr. Solomon Kaine, applied and obtained a court order, from the high court sitting in Zaria before Justice Kabir Sabo, restraining the Local government council from passing a bill on sale and consumption of alcohol. The judge had adjourned the case to June 23 “for hearing of the substantive application.”
The court did not, however, sit on the adjourned date. However, speaking with newsmen, Kaine said: “We took the Sabon Gari Local government Area to court because it has power to regulate, but it does not have power to stop sale and consumption of alcohol. “So, we want the court to stop the local government from harassing hoteliers and as well stop enacting such law.” It will be recalled that in October last year, there was tension in Zaria over plans to outlaw the sale and consumption of beer and related products, following a proposed bill to enact such law by the council.
Sabon Gari Local Government had sent letters dated October 21, 2019, inviting hotel owners and liquor sellers to the hearing of the proposed bill. During the hearing in October, hotel owners and liquor sellers, represented by their lawyer, Mr. Daniel Peter, noted that local governments in Nigeria had the power to license, regulate and control sale of liquor, but argued that local governments lacked the power to prohibit sale of liquor or legislate to prohibit consumption of beer. He noted that sections 5 and 6 of the said bill clearly prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol, adding that it was outside the legislative powers of local governments. He further argued that the sections were clearly stated in the fourth schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and “therefore ultra vires and not within the legislative competence of local governments.”
