MAN CALLS FOR RESCISSION OF NAFDAC’S BAN ON SACHET ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, SAYS IT RUNS AGAINST PROGRESSIVE ALTERNATIVES JOINTLY AGREED BY ALL STAKEHOLDERS.

 

By Kayode Olopade 

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has expressed concerns over the recent directive issued by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to outrightly ban the production and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and small PET bottles by 31st December, 2025. This directive followed a resolution reported to have been passed by the Senate at its sitting on Thursday 6th November, 2025.

Segun Ajayi-Kadir, Director General of the Association stressed that it is concerning to note that this unexpected development is dissonant to all stakeholders' efforts on the matter and completely at variance with the subsisting position of the House of Representatives on the same matter.

He added that the earlier directive for a one-year extension by the Ministry of Health, which culminated into the consideration and validation of the draft National Alcohol Policy by stakeholders should have been considered before any major official pronouncement by another arm of the government. We also believe that a stakeholders’ consultation, either through a public hearing or focused meetings with relevant stakeholders in the alcohol beverages industry, should have been called by the relevant Senate Committee before a ban is ordered. This was the route that was painstakingly followed by the House of Representatives in the recent past.

Ajayi-Kadir emphasized that the issues concerning the ban on alcohol in sachets and small PET bottles were resolved by an enlarged Committee comprising all the stakeholders and NAFDAC representatives, who validated the National Alcohol Policy in October 2025 with the following key recommendations:     

• Multi-sectoral action plans.

• Tightening of enforcement by law enforcement agencies.

• Establishment of licensed liquor stores/outlets in Local Government Areas across the country.

• Increase in monitoring and compliance checks by NAFDAC, FCCPC and others to ensure strict product quality in terms of content and safety.

• Ensuring regulatory bodies place more emphasis on regulation, monitoring and enlightenment campaigns to educate stakeholders and the general public on the dangers of underage consumption of alcohol and its sales in motor parks.      

• Enlightenment campaigns to be carried out in secondary schools across the country to educate students on dangers and vices associated with the abuse of alcohol.

Additionally, we would like to place on record that the unfounded and untested statement of abuse by minors, has been dismissed by several empirical research that were independently conducted by the government. The industry has even gone further, notwithstanding the report of the surveys, to initiate series of campaigns in respect of responsible alcohol consumption in order to discourage underage abuse. These campaigns have necessitated an industry spend  of over a billion Naira in advertisements at all levels of media outreach across the federation and has been very impactful in discouraging abuse by under-age persons.

Ajayi-Kadir further stressed that it is therefore necessary to state that the reported directive by the Senate for an outright ban is unfair and against the run of play in the industry, given the fact that the upper chamber appears only to have considered the opinion of NAFDAC, who necessarily, were part of the validation that was organised by the agency’s supervisory Ministry, the Ministry of Health. It is our position that NAFDAC should have presented its opinion to the Committee and the Ministry during the validation, rather than by-passing these processes and opting to approach the National Assembly without giving other stakeholders the opportunity to be consulted or to respond.

This pronouncement, which we believe is counterproductive and forebodes economic dislocation of significant proportions for the nation at this period, will have serious consequences for the now stabilizing economy for the following reasons:

• loss of over N1.9 trillion investment, largely by the indigenous Nigerian companies;

• consequential mass retrenchment of over 500,000direct employees and approximately 5 million indirect through contracts, marketing and other logistics;

• reduction in capacity utilization in manufacturing, which in recent quarters begun to gradually improve on account of the industry’s contribution as a component of food and beverages sector; and

• loss of indigenous businesses that may gradually obliterate local entrepreneurship development in the economy.

Quite importantly, the logic of the ban should be further interrogated. The advent of sale of alcohol in sachets is an innovation to serve adults with low budget who desire the product and should have a right a choice.  The ban would therefore deny them the opportunity to exercise that right. In addition and on a positive side, availability in small portion could also discourage abuse in bigger portions. 

It is equally important to note that the alcohol served in sachets by local producers are produced under hygienic conditions and certified by our regulatory agencies. To ban the product would open a floodgate of illicit and unwholesome substances that are not subject to regulation and beyond the control of the relevant agencies. These ones operate under the radar and would be of devastating effect on the consumers, young and old. Once there is an established appetite for a product and it is not illegal, effective control and regulation is the most sustainable way to manage access, and not ban.

Moreso, a ban would also literarily yield the market to the influx of foreign brands, which are mostly smuggled. Apart from possible unwholesomeness, this will be at the expense of excluded domestic producer and loss of revenue for the Government. 

We therefore make a  strident appeal for an expedited endorsement and implementation of  the validated Nigeria National Alcohol Policy and its multi-sectoral implementation framework. We believe that this will make the implementation of the unwarranted ban unnecessary.  We appeal to the Senate to rescind the Order on the ban of sale of alcoholic beverages in sachet and for NAFDAC to be restrained from implementing the ban from December 31st 2025. We should be mindful of the economic implications of unnecessary  sudden regulatory shifts that could have significant implications for legitimate manufacturers, thousands of employees and informal value‑chain operators across the country.

Ajayi‑Kadir stressed that "MAN has always supported measures that remove unsafe products from the market. We have only maintained that such decisions should be supported by empirical facts and not emotional persuasions or appeal to guided public emotions. To succumb to these scenarios is a costly mistake, as it compromises jobs, livelihoods and activates other unintended consequences. MAN recommits to working closely with our members engaged in the production of alcoholic beverages in sachets to adhere to all regulations and standards. We are actively involved in monitoring their public campaigns and efforts to ensure restricted access, prevention of sale to the underage and responsible consumption.