Civil society organisations have thrown their weight behind the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, over its plan to enforce the ban on sachet and small-volume alcohol packaging from December 2025, insisting that the measure is critical to protecting public health.
The Network for Health Equity and Development, NHED and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA made their position known in a joint statement on Sunday, describing the ban as a long-overdue intervention that will safeguard children, youths, and other vulnerable groups from harmful alcohol exposure.
The CSOs warned that the packaging, pricing, and aggressive marketing of alcohol in sachets, PET bottles, and glass bottles of 200ml and below had made high-concentration alcohol dangerously accessible to minors, fuelling addiction, social disorder, road crashes, and non-communicable diseases.
They recalled that although NAFDAC announced the ban in 2024 and granted manufacturers a multi-year phase-out period ending December 2025, many producers continued production in defiance of the directive.
NHED and CAPPA criticised the resistance from alcohol manufacturers and faulted the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) for claiming that the ban would trigger investment losses and massive job cuts.
They described the claims as exaggerated scare tactics commonly deployed by alcohol and tobacco industries worldwide to weaken regulation.
“The figures being circulated are inflated and unverifiable,” the organisations said. “This is a familiar global strategy used to force governments to prioritise commercial interest over public health.”
They argued that production processes for these products are highly mechanised and require minimal labour, making the job-loss narrative misleading. They also accused industry players of weaponising economic misinformation to blackmail regulators rather than engaging constructively with evidence-based policies.
Dr. Jerome Mafeni, Technical Director at NHED, stressed that the protection of lives must override profit motives. He noted that Nigeria is already grappling with the consequences of alcohol misuse, including rising addiction among young people, increased violence, declining productivity, and mounting healthcare costs.
“It is unacceptable that children can purchase high-concentration alcohol for as little as ₦100,” Mafeni said. “Manufacturers have for years placed profit above the well-being of Nigerians.”
CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said NAFDAC’s stance aligns with global best practices and mirrors actions taken by responsible governments to curb harmful alcohol consumption.
“No credible public health agency allows the continued marketing of products packaged to encourage on-the-go and underage drinking,” he said, commending NAFDAC for resisting corporate pressure.
The organisations urged the Federal Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and National Orientation Agency (NOA) to support the agency for seamless implementation of the ban.
They also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly not to bow to pressure from industry players.
“The well-being of over 200 million Nigerians must not be sacrificed at the altar of corporate profit,” the CSOs said.
Beyond enforcing the ban, they recommended additional control measures including higher taxation, stricter marketing restrictions to protect children, clearer labelling, and nationwide public sensitisation on alcohol-related harm.
According to them, the long-term social and economic burden of alcohol misuse, from healthcare costs to reduced productivity and premature deaths, far outweighs any economic value claimed by manufacturers.
“NAFDAC’s ban is the right policy at the right time,” the groups stated. “NHED and CAPPA stand firmly with the agency and with Nigerians committed to a safer, healthier society.”