Senate Orders NAFDAC to Enforce Ban on Sachet Alcohol from December 2025
TEC News | Abuja | 6th November, 2025.
The Senate has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other relevant regulatory bodies to strictly enforce the ban on the packaging of high-strength alcoholic beverages in sachet formats beginning December 2025.
The lawmakers further resolved that no additional extension should be granted beyond the current moratorium period.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong, on the need to halt further extension of the phase-out of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets.
In his lead debate during plenary, Senator Ekpeyong reminded the Senate that NAFDAC, in line with international best practices and after extensive consultations with industry stakeholders, had earlier announced a phased ban on the importation, manufacture, and distribution of alcohol in sachet packaging.
He noted that in 2018, key stakeholders—including the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), NAFDAC, and industry associations such as 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.
The MoU was prompted by growing health and social concerns about the affordability, portability, and accessibility of such products, particularly among children, adolescents, commercial drivers, and other vulnerable groups.
Ekpeyong recalled that despite the initial deadline, the Federal Government granted manufacturers an additional one-year moratorium in 2024 to exhaust existing stock and transition to compliant packaging alternatives, extending the phase-out until December 2025.
However, the lawmaker expressed concern that some manufacturers were lobbying for another extension, a move he said undermines regulatory authority, threatens public health, and distorts fair competition in the industry.
He warned that the continued production of high-strength alcoholic beverages in sachets contributes to youth addiction, road accidents, school dropouts, domestic violence, and other social vices.
Following deliberations, the Senate also instructed the Federal Ministry of Health to remove any obstacles preventing NAFDAC from carrying out its enforcement duties and to expedite the release of the National Alcohol Policy—which should clearly prohibit sachet packaging of high-strength alcoholic beverages and promote coordinated public sensitization efforts across the country.
