The Executive Secretary of the Food, Beverages and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, Solomon Adebosin, has urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control to engage stakeholders in dialogue over the recent ban on alcohol sold in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml.
In an interview with ARISE News on Tuesday, Adebosin said the ban, which NAFDAC began enforcing on January 21, 2026, could have unintended consequences on local businesses and employment.
The agency had announced plans on November 11, 2025, to enforce a total ban on such products by December 2025, following a directive from the Senate.
Enforcement was initially halted after the Federal Government suspended the measures pending consultations.
However, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency has now received an order from the Senate to proceed.
She explained that the ban is aimed at safeguarding public health and protecting vulnerable populations, particularly children, adolescents, and young adults, from harmful alcohol use.
Adebosin, however, argued that sachet alcohol plays a role in moderation and affordability.
He said, “Now the claim is that it’s been in sachet, it becomes very accessible, but the idea of products coming in sachet is because of the way the economy in Nigeria is now. We have something for ourselves to be a search economy in most of the things that we have because of affordability.”
He added, “It also helps in ensuring moderation, because when you just have it in bits, you take it and then you’re okay, because now you are not compelled to now take more than… what we always talk about and advocate for is drink responsibly, drink in moderation.
“And so when it is in this form, it becomes easy for someone to just take, you know, one sachet and then you’re okay. Rather than having a big volume that you now be taking and taking and now, you know, go overboard.”
Adebosin also expressed concern for local manufacturers and employment, saying, “The challenge we have is that when you come against products like this, which are made by indigenous Nigerians, we are looking at the issue of employment.
“Indigenous Nigerians are putting a lot of money to be able to set up these companies and then give employment to Nigerians directly and indirectly. By shutting it down, you’re going to be affecting that.”
He further warned that the ban could discourage foreign investment, stating, “When foreign direct investors see the way local investors are being treated, it’s not going to encourage them to say they want to come and now invest in Nigeria.”
Adebosin called on NAFDAC to explore alternatives, saying, “We can have a dialogue on this. We can look at different ways of solving this issue. The issue should not just be ban… We should not be thinking of ban as the first response. We can be able to have dialogue and then provide other suggestions and a way out of this.”
Post A Comment: