Mark Darlington Osae, the manager of Reggie ‘N’ Bollie and Skrewfaze has dragged the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame to court over the ban on celebrities from advertising for alcoholic beverages.
The FDA’s directives bar the use of celebrities in plugging alcoholic beverages.
This according to the Authority is to protect minors from being influenced by celebrities into alcoholism.
Prior to this suit, a lot of stakeholders in the creative industry including, Wendy Shay, Shatta Wale, Brother Sammy, Kuami Eugene, and Camidoh, had spoken against the law and had called on powers that be to repeal it.
On November 11, 2022, the plaintiff, Mark Darlington Osae, also a music publisher at Perfect Note Publishing, issued a writ of summons, saying the FDA’s 2015 regulations are discriminatory against the creative arts industry.
Mark, who is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Ghana Music Alliance, says the FDA directive which ordered that, “no well-known personality or professional shall be used in alcoholic beverage advertising,” is inconsistent with and in contravention of articles 17(1) and 17 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.
Articles 17(1) and 17 (2) of the 1992 Constitution guarantee quality before the law and prohibit discrimination against persons on grounds of social or economic status, occupation, among others, and consequently null, void, and unenforceable.
In February 2017, Mark Darlington led his artistes, Reggie ‘N’ Bollie, to sue Fan Milk Ghana Limited for using their song titled ‘New Girl’ for commercial purposes without their consent.
See the writ of summons below:
