NAFDAC, Nigeria’s food and drug regulatory agency, has announced it is now banning sachet and small-bottle alcohol products. The Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said that by December 2025, the production and sale of these alcoholic drinks in sachets and bottles smaller than 200ml will stop. The ban will be fully enforced in January 2026 with help from security agencies.
This move marks the end of a seven-year struggle between public health regulators and a multi-billion-naira industry. NAFDAC will have political support this time.
Why This Product?
This ban isn’t about targeting alcohol itself. It’s about targeting a specific, uniquely dangerous packaging. In her press briefing, Prof. Adeyeye perfectly described the “public health menace.” These products, she said, are:
- Easily Accessible: They cost very little, often as cheap as a sachet of water.
- Affordable: Their low price makes them popular among low-income and high-risk groups.
- Concealable: A sachet or a 100ml bottle can easily fit in a pocket or bag.
This “triple threat” makes these drinks appealing to minors and commercial drivers, leading to problems like domestic violence, road accidents, school dropouts, and various social issues. Prof. Adeyeye referred to it as a “national security threat,” warning that children addicted to cheap alcohol may turn to harder drugs.
The ban isn’t new. It should have happened two years ago. NAFDAC has fought this battle since 2018. Back then, NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Health, and the FCCPC met with the industry, represented by the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN). They signed a five-year agreement to phase out sachet alcohol by 2023 slowly.
In 2023, when the deadline arrived, the industry resisted, citing the tough economy and the cost of changing production lines. The government granted a one-year extension, pushing the deadline to December 2025. The industry hoped for another extension until the Senate intervened.
The Senate passed a resolution telling NAFDAC to enforce the ban without further delay. As the TVC News report noted, Prof. Adeyeye confirmed that “the Senate’s resolution is absolute and no further extension will be granted.”
Prof. Adeyeye now has the full backing of the legislature, allowing her to call the industry’s bluff finally. The time for extensions and lobbying is over. As she put it in her statement, “This ban is not punitive; it is protective… We cannot continue to sacrifice the well-being of Nigerians for short-term economic gain.” The industry has been given a 14-month countdown. This time, the deadline is absolute.
The industry, however, has just fired back, and they are warning that the “economic gain” NAFDAC is dismissing is actually a ₦1.9 trillion pillar of the economy.
In a swift and dire response reported by Nairametrics, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) warned that this ban isn’t just a regulatory tweak; it’s an existential threat that could “wipe out” ₦1.9 trillion in investments.
This ₦1.9 trillion figure represents the entire ecosystem built around this packaging: the specialised machinery, the supply chains, the packaging plants, and the distribution networks.
The industry’s argument is twofold:
- Mass Job Losses: Wiping out that much investment will lead to catastrophic job losses across the entire value chain, from the factory floor to the distributor’s truck.
- A New Black Market: The manufacturers are warning that the ban won’t stop the demand. It will simply create a new, dangerous black market for these products, which will be even more unregulated, more destructive, and completely untaxed.
So, the battle line is officially drawn. On one side, NAFDAC and the Senate are armed with a public health and national security mandate to protect a vulnerable generation. On the other hand, the manufacturers are armed with a ₦1.9 trillion economic warning and the threat of mass unemployment.
The industry has been given a 14-month countdown. But this is no longer just a ticking clock; it’s the start of a high-stakes war.
Edit: The earlier report was edited to include the response by MAN as reported by Nairametrics
