By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Federal Government has begun a nationwide enforcement and public enlightenment campaign on the ban of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and small PET and glass bottles below 200 millilitres.
This was announced at a joint press conference organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), held in Abuja on Tuesday, March 3.
Speaking at the press conference, the Director-General of NOA, Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the ban, which took effect on January 1, targets the production, distribution and sale of alcohol in sachets and bottles smaller than 200ml.
He said the ban is part of efforts to curb underage alcohol consumption, adding that the action was taken by the government in the interest of the people.
“Today marks the official flagging-off of a Joint Nationwide Campaign by the National Orientation Agency, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on the ban of sachet alcoholic drinks in Nigeria.
“Today, we are taking a united stand for the health, safety, and protection of Nigerian consumers,” Issa-Onilu said.
Issa-Onilu said NOA would deploy its nationwide structures to drive awareness and compliance, and urged parents, community leaders, retailers, and distributors to comply with the new policy and support enforcement efforts.
“With 818 offices nationwide and operational structures across all 774 Local Government Areas, we will ensure that this message reaches every community,” he added.
Also speaking at the briefing, NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, said the enforcement followed years of consultations and extensions, amid findings on the high rate of alcohol consumption among minors.
She said: “We are here to ensure that the ban on sachet alcohol and alcohol in small bottles less than 200ml is enforced across all age groups in Nigeria.
“The availability and easy access to alcohol have been identified as a contributory factor to the increasing alcohol consumption among minors.”
According to Adeyeye, discussions around regulating high-concentration alcohol in sachets date back to 2018, when the Association of Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Employees and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria approached NAFDAC via the Ministry of Health regarding efforts to reduce the concentration of alcohol in sachets.
“By that time, it was like 50 percent in the sachet; beer is about six to eight percent. You can imagine how concentrated that is, and the fact that it is easy to access and conceal. We did not know how bad it was.
“However, the Ministry of Health called all of us, including FCCPC. DIBAN and AFBTE said that their businesses would be destroyed,” she added.
Adeyeye said the former Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, granted the trade groups a five-year moratorium to restructure their operations, which elapsed in February 2024, prompting NAFDAC to begin enforcement in line with its statutory mandate.
She said further delays followed until December 2024, when the Minister of Health, Prof. Muhammad Pate, granted an additional one-year extension, while the Senate later directed the agency to resume strict enforcement.
The NAFDAC boss said the renewed enforcement followed alarming findings from national surveys assessing the impact of sachet alcohol on underage Nigerians.
Adeyeye added that the survey found that children as young as nine years old consume alcohol, with binge drinking notably reported in some states.
She highlighted the health implications, noting that underage drinking poses grave risks.
She said alcohol abuse is linked to broader social challenges such as banditry and kidnapping.
