Senate Orders NAFDAC To Enforce Sachet Alcohol Ban
THECONSCIENCE NG reports that the Senate has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other relevant regulatory agencies to begin full enforcement of the ban on high-strength alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets from December 2025.
Lawmakers also resolved that no further extension should be granted beyond the current moratorium. The decision followed the adoption of a motion by Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong on the need to stop further extension of the phase-out of alcoholic beverages in sachet formats.
During plenary, Senator Ekpeyong reminded the Senate that NAFDAC, after wide consultations with industry stakeholders and in line with international standards, had announced a phased ban on the importation, manufacture, and distribution of alcohol in sachets.
He explained that in 2018, stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), NAFDAC, and industry groups such as the Association of Food, Beverage & Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), voluntarily signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The MoU committed them to gradually phase out the products due to health and social concerns linked to their affordability and accessibility, especially among children, adolescents, commercial drivers, and other vulnerable groups.
Ekpeyong recalled that despite the initial deadline, the Federal Government granted an additional one-year grace period in 2024 for manufacturers to exhaust existing stock and transition to compliant packaging, extending the phase-out until December 2025.
However, he expressed worry that some manufacturers are lobbying for another extension, warning that such moves undermine regulatory authority, threaten public health, and distort fair competition.
He cautioned that the continued production of sachet-packaged alcohol fuels youth addiction, road accidents, school dropouts, domestic violence, and other social problems.
After deliberations, the Senate also directed the Federal Ministry of Health to remove any obstacles preventing NAFDAC from enforcing the ban and to hasten the release of the National Alcohol Policy.
The policy, lawmakers said, should explicitly prohibit sachet packaging of high-strength alcoholic drinks and strengthen nationwide public sensitisation efforts.
