The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, has raised alarm over the renewed enforcement by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, of a ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small PET bottles, describing the move as a serious regulatory misstep with far-reaching economic and governance consequences.

NECA said the action directly contradicts a directive issued by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on December 15, 2025, which suspended the ban, as well as a resolution of the House of Representatives of March 14, 2024, calling for restraint and broader stakeholder engagement.

In a statement yesterday, Director General of NECA, Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said regulation must be rooted in evidence, proportionality and the rule of law.

He described it as unacceptable to punish compliance or criminalise products that passed established regulatory approval processes while ignoring gaps in retail enforcement and the spread of far more dangerous unregulated substances. Nigeria, he said, needs smarter, data-driven enforcement rather than blanket bans that destroy jobs, discourage investment and fail to solve underlying problems.

Oyerinde noted that the alcoholic products being targeted were tested, registered and periodically revalidated under NAFDAC’s own scientific and technical procedures. He explained that alcohol strength is measured globally using Alcohol by Volume (ABV) and that the products fall within internationally recognised ranges for spirits, with their alcohol content clearly printed on labels and approved within Nigeria’s regulatory framework.

Abruptly portraying such products as inherently dangerous without presenting new and transparent scientific evidence, he said, raises serious questions about regulatory consistency and fairness.

On underage drinking, Oyerinde stressed that access control is fundamentally an enforcement issue rather than a packaging issue. Alcoholic beverages, he said, already carry clear warnings indicating they are not for persons under 18 and should be consumed responsibly. Where minors gain access, he argued, the failure lies in weak monitoring of retail outlets and poor enforcement of age restrictions, which require stricter licensing, compliance checks and sanctions for erring retailers—not the elimination of packaging formats that lawfully serve adult consumers. (Vanguard)

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