The Senate has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other regulatory agencies to strictly enforce the ban on high-strength alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets, beginning December 2025.
Lawmakers also ruled out any further extensions beyond the current moratorium, insisting that the enforcement deadline must stand.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong (Cross River South) on the need to halt further delay in phasing out sachet-packaged alcoholic drinks.
Presenting the motion at plenary, Ekpeyong reminded the Senate that NAFDAC had, after wide consultations with stakeholders, adopted a phased ban on the importation, manufacture and distribution of such products in line with international best practices.
He recalled that in 2018, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), NAFDAC, and industry associations, including the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), voluntarily signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to gradually phase out sachet alcohol.
According to him, the agreement was reached due to rising health and social concerns over the affordability and accessibility of these products, particularly among children, adolescents, commercial drivers and other vulnerable groups.
Ekpeyong disclosed that despite the initial deadline, the Federal Government had granted an additional one-year grace period in 2024 to allow manufacturers exhaust existing stock and switch to compliant packaging, extending the phase-out to December 2025.
He, however, warned that some producers are lobbying for another extension, describing the move as a threat to public health, regulatory integrity and fair industry competition.
"The continued production of high-strength alcoholic beverages in sachets promotes youth addiction, road accidents, domestic violence and other social vices," he said.
Following deliberations, the Senate directed the Federal Ministry of Health to remove any bottlenecks hindering NAFDAC’s enforcement of the ban and to fast-track the release of the National Alcohol Policy.
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