The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has criticised the renewed enforcement of the ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small PET bottles by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), describing the move as a regulatory misstep with serious economic and governance implications.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Wale-Smatt Oyerinde, director-general of NECA said the enforcement contradicts a directive issued by the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (OSGF) on December 15, 2025, which suspended the ban, as well as a resolution of the house of representatives dated March 14, 2024, calling for restraint and broader stakeholder engagement.
Oyerinde warned that the continued enforcement is already disrupting legitimate businesses, unsettling ongoing investments, threatening thousands of jobs, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s regulatory environment at a time when investor trust remains fragile.
“NECA unequivocally supports the protection of minors, the removal of unsafe products from the market, and the pursuit of strong public health outcomes. However, the current approach is misdirected,” Oyerinde said.
According to him, the enforcement disproportionately targets compliant and regulated manufacturers while failing to address the real drivers of underage access to alcohol and the wider challenge of illicit substance abuse in the country.
Oyerinde stressed that regulation must be anchored on evidence, proportionality, and respect for due process, noting that it is unacceptable to criminalise products that have passed established regulatory approval processes without presenting new and transparent scientific evidence.
He explained that the alcoholic products being targeted were tested, registered, and periodically revalidated in line with NAFDAC’s scientific and technical procedures, with alcohol content clearly stated on product labels and measured according to internationally recognised standards.
On underage drinking, the NECA director-general said access control is fundamentally an enforcement issue rather than a packaging one, arguing that weak monitoring of retail outlets and poor enforcement of age restrictions remain the core problems.
He added that sachet and small pack formats reflect affordability realities in Nigeria’s economy, where many adult consumers make low-value daily purchases, warning that eliminating these formats could push demand toward informal and unregulated alternatives, thereby increasing public health risks.
Oyerinde also expressed concern that while enforcement pressure is focused on a regulated segment of the beverage industry, more dangerous illicit substances and abused pharmaceuticals continue to circulate widely among young people.
“The economic consequences of the ban are significant. The wines and spirits value chain supports thousands of direct and indirect jobs across manufacturing, packaging, distribution, transportation, retail, and agriculture,” he said.
He added that environmental concerns related to plastic waste should be addressed through improved waste management systems, recycling frameworks, and extended producer responsibility mechanisms, rather than selective product bans.
Oyerinde called for the immediate suspension of the enforcement actions in line with the federal government’s earlier directive and urged regulators to return to structured, evidence-based dialogue involving industry players, public health experts, and consumer groups.
According to him, the focus should be on strengthening retail-level enforcement to prevent underage access, expanding public education on responsible consumption, intensifying action against illicit drugs and unregistered alcohol, and developing practical environmental solutions through collaboration rather than prohibition.
