The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) responded to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s (MAN) criticism of its ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-volume PET/glass bottles (below 200ml) on Thursday.
Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC Director-General said, “This ban is not punitive; it is protective; she encourages manufacturers distributors, and retailers, to comply fully with the ban.
She emphasised that the ban on sachet packaging and PET botttle less than 200 ml is to make it difficult for children to get to alcohol and its consumption.
“NAFDAC approves alcohol in bigger pack sizes,” she said.
She referenced that before the December 2025 ban was enforced, six years of moratorium were given to manufacturers to reconfigure their production lines.
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In December 2018, NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Health, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) to phase out sachet and small-volume alcohol packaging by January 31, 2024.
The moratorium was later extended to December 2025 to allow industry operators to exhaust old stock and reconfigure production lines.
NAFDAC emphasises that the current Senate resolution aligns with the spirit and letter of that agreement and with Nigeria’s commitment to the World Health Assembly Global Strategy Resolution o Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol (WHA63.13, 2010), to which Nigeria is a signatory since 2010.
It’s in line with the recent directive of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
This decisive action, ordered by the Nigerian Senate and backed by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, underscores the agency’s statutory mandate to safeguard public health and protect vulnerable populations particularly children, adolescents, and young adults from the harmful use of alcohol.
She concluded: “NAFDAC did not close down any company that makes alcohol. The agency only ban the alcohol in sachets and small containers of less than 200ml.”
