•Alcohol in sachets
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) will begin the enforcement of the ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and small bottles below 200ml by next month, December 2025.
NAFDAC Director General, Mojisola Adeyeye, gave the directive during a press briefing in Abuja today.
“This ban is not punitive; it is protective. It is aimed at safeguarding the health and future of our children and youth,” Adeyeye said, warning that no extension will be entertained beyond December 2025.
“The proliferation of high-alcohol-content beverages in sachets and small containers has made such products easily accessible, affordable, and concealable, leading to widespread misuse and addiction among minors and commercial drivers,” she said.
The NAFDAC chief said the move is “rooted in scientific evidence and public health considerations” despite pushback from some stakeholders, including manufacturers.
“We cannot continue to sacrifice the well-being of Nigerians for short-term economic gain. The health of a nation is its true wealth,” the NAFDAC DG told the gathering.
“This public health menace has been linked to increased incidences of domestic violence, road accidents, school dropouts, and social vices across communities.”
According to her, the directive follows a resolution by the Senate highlighting concerns over cheap alcohol drinks packaged in sachets being easily accessed by minors and contributing to social problems.
In December 2018, NAFDAC sealed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), and bodies in the industry such as the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) over the plan to phase out sachet and small-bottle alcohol packaging by January 2024.
The move led to a protest by the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria at the Lagos office of NAFDAC, which argued that the development would lead to the loss of thousands of jobs. They called for a review of the ban, citing other factors.
That led NAFDAC to extend the moratorium to December 2025 to allow manufacturers to exhaust old stock and adjust their production lines.
But the agency has warned that the new deadline is absolute and no further extension will be granted.
The agency urged retailers and manufacturers to comply with the directive. To ensure compliance, NAFDAC will be working with security agencies beginning in January 2026.
