The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has commenced nationwide enforcement of the Federal Government’s ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET/plastic bottles below 200ml, directing manufacturers to recall the prohibited products or risk severe sanctions.
The agency has also launched street-to-street enforcement operations targeting markets, motor parks, bars, retail outlets, distribution centres and other points of sale where the banned alcoholic products are still being sold.
Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the renewed crackdown became necessary because prohibited alcoholic beverages continued to surface in the market months after the ban officially took effect on January 1, 2026.
Adeyeye stressed that the policy was not aimed at banning alcohol consumption but at curbing the proliferation of high-alcohol-content products packaged in cheap, small containers that are easily accessible to children and young people.
She cited research showing that 47.2 per cent of minors and 48.8 per cent of underage consumers obtained alcohol in sachets, while 41.2 per cent of minors and 47.2 per cent of underage consumers procured alcohol in PET bottles.
According to NAFDAC, some factories have already been shut down and workers arrested over the continued production of the prohibited products.
The agency has also directed the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and their member companies to sign an Irrevocable Enforcement Undertaking committing them to discontinue production of the banned alcoholic products.
Under the agreement, manufacturers are required to immediately recall sachet and sub-200ml PET alcoholic beverages from distributors, warehouses and other locations within the supply chain and submit periodic compliance reports to NAFDAC.
The recalled products will be verified and destroyed under the agency’s supervision, with manufacturers bearing the cost of the exercise.
NAFDAC further said factories shut for violations would be required to demonstrate that production lines used for manufacturing the prohibited products had been dismantled, permanently disabled or reconfigured before they could reopen.
Adeyeye explained that the ban followed years of consultations dating back to 2018, with manufacturers initially granted a five-year moratorium to reconfigure their production lines and transition to larger packaging. The deadline was subsequently extended to December 31, 2025, before full enforcement began in January 2026.
She said enforcement had been rolled out in phases, with the first phase focusing on manufacturers. During that phase, prohibited products discovered in factories were evacuated and destroyed.
The second phase, which commenced in July, involves nationwide mop-up operations targeting markets, motor parks, bars, retail outlets and distribution centres.
Adeyeye warned that manufacturers and other operators who violate the enforcement undertaking could face continued closure, placement on NAFDAC’s Regulatory Watchlist, suspension or revocation of product registrations, criminal prosecution and other sanctions provided by law.
“We are not expecting this to end next week or two weeks’ time,” she said, emphasising that the enforcement campaign would continue until full compliance was achieved.
NAFDAC urged members of the public to report the manufacture, distribution or sale of prohibited alcoholic beverages to the agency or its nearest office.
