‘No Going Back’: NAFDAC Resumes Crackdown on Sachet Alcohol as Distillers Protest
LAGOS — The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has officially resumed the nationwide enforcement of the ban on alcoholic beverages in sachets and small bottles (below 200ml), declaring that the grace period for manufacturers has definitively expired.
The Agency’s Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, confirmed the renewed crackdown on Wednesday, stating that NAFDAC received a “marching order” from the Senate to implement the policy immediately to save Nigerian youths from addiction.
This latest move ends the temporary suspension granted by the Federal Government in 2025, which allowed distillers time to exhaust their old stock.
“The Deadline Has Passed”
Speaking at a media parley in Lagos, Adeyeye maintained that the window for negotiation is closed. She emphasized that the ban is not a sudden policy but the final stage of a five-year phase-out plan that began in 2018.
“We have started the enforcement,” Adeyeye announced. “NAFDAC is not against alcohol production, but we are against the packaging of high-concentration spirits in sachets and small bottles that are easily accessible to children.”
She argued that the “pocket-friendly” nature of these drinks—often sold for as little as ₦100—has fueled a national health crisis, contributing to increased rates of drug abuse and road accidents.
Distillers and Unions Fight Back
The resumption of enforcement has triggered immediate backlash. On Friday, members of the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), supported by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), stormed NAFDAC’s Lagos office in protest.
Carrying placards reading “Stop Destroying Local Manufacturers” and “Let the Poor Breathe,” the protesters warned that the ban is an “economic death sentence” for the sector.
Solomon Adebosin, Executive Secretary of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, warned of catastrophic job losses.
“This ban will wipe out over ₦2 trillion in investments and send 5.5 million Nigerians into the unemployment market,” Adebosin told reporters. “You cannot cure a headache by cutting off the head. Regulation, not prohibition, is the answer.”
The Enforcement Strategy
NAFDAC’s enforcement officers have already begun sealing factories and warehouses that are still producing the banned packaging. The Agency clarified that the ban applies strictly to:
- Spirit drinks in sachets.
- Alcoholic beverages in PET and glass bottles below 200ml.
Beer and standard-sized wine bottles are exempt from the regulation.
Despite the protests, Prof. Adeyeye insisted that public health supersedes economic profit. “We cannot compromise the future of our children for the sake of business. The law must take its course,” she concluded.