NECA calls for evidence-based regulation on sachet alcohol ban

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has called for evidence based regulation on the ban of alcohol in sachets.

The Director-General of NECA, Mr Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, stated this in a statement on Thursday in Lagos, adding that the regulation must be rooted in evidence, proportionality, and the rule of law.

Oyerinde said that it had been observed with deep concern the renewed enforcement by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control of a ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small PET bottles.

According to him, the action directly contradicts the directive of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation dated Dec. 15, 2025, suspending the ban.

“It also contradicts the resolution of the House of Representatives of March 14, 2024, which called for restraint and broader stakeholder engagement.

“The continued enforcement is already disrupting legitimate businesses, unsettling ongoing investments, placing thousands of jobs at risk, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s regulatory stability, at a time when investor trust is critically important.

“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. It disproportionately targets compliant and regulated manufacturers, while failing to address the real drivers of underage access and the growing challenge of illicit substance abuse across the country,” he said.

According to him, it is unacceptable to punish compliance or criminalise products that passed established regulatory approval processes, while ignoring clear gaps in retail enforcement and the spread of far more dangerous unregulated substances.

He said that Nigeria needed smarter, data driven enforcement, not blanket bans that destroyed jobs, discouraged investment, and failed to solve the underlying problem.

Oyerinde said that the alcoholic products now being targeted were tested, registered, and periodically revalidated under NAFDAC’s own scientific and technical procedures.

“Alcohol strength is measured globally using Alcohol By Volume (ABV) and the products in question fall within internationally recognised ranges for spirits.

“Their alcohol content is clearly printed on labels and was approved within Nigeria’s regulatory framework.

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

On the issue of underage drinking, Oyerinde said that access control was fundamentally an enforcement matter, not a packaging matter.

He said that alcoholic beverages already carried clear warnings indicating they were not for persons under 18 and should be consumed responsibly.

According to him, where minors gain access, the failure lies in weak monitoring of retail outlets and poor enforcement of age restrictions.

He said that addressing this required stricter licensing, compliance checks, and sanctions for erring retailers, not the elimination of packaging formats that served adult consumers lawfully.

“Eliminating these formats will not eliminate demand. Instead, it risks pushing consumers toward informal and unregulated alternatives, increasing public health risks, while shrinking the formal economy,” he said.

Oyerinde also expressed concern that while enforcement pressure was being concentrated on a regulated segment of the beverage industry, the country continued to face the spread of more dangerous substances among young people, including illicit narcotics and abused pharmaceuticals.

“Directing limited enforcement resources toward compliant manufacturers while more harmful unregulated products circulate widely represents a serious misalignment of policy priorities.

“The economic consequences of the ban are significant. The wines and spirits value chain supports large numbers of direct and indirect jobs across manufacturing, packaging, distribution, transportation, retail, and agriculture.

“At a time when businesses are grappling with high operating costs, currency pressures, and weak consumer purchasing power, sudden regulatory shocks of this nature threaten livelihoods.

“It reduces government revenue, and undermine investor confidence in the predictability of Nigeria’s policy environment.

“Nigeria deserves regulation that protects public health while preserving jobs, investment, and respect for the rule of law.

“Policies that disregard science, economic realities, and regulatory coherence risk doing more harm than good,” he said.