The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has intensified its nationwide crackdown on banned alcoholic beverages, ordering the removal of sachet alcohol and alcoholic drinks packaged in PET bottles below 200ml from circulation across Nigeria.
The enforcement operation covers the country’s six geopolitical zones, with NAFDAC teams targeting markets, motor parks, retail outlets, bars and other distribution points where the prohibited products may still be available.
Brandspur Brand News reports that the agency has directed manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, hawkers and transporters holding remaining stocks to surrender the products. Those who continue to produce, distribute, sell or possess the banned drinks risk regulatory sanctions, seizure of products and prosecution.
The latest operation follows the Federal Government’s prohibition of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml. NAFDAC said the enforcement is being sustained after manufacturing facilities found to be violating the ban were closed.
For consumers, the directive means sachet alcoholic drinks and sub-200ml PET alcoholic beverages should no longer be available for lawful sale. NAFDAC has urged Nigerians not to purchase the prohibited products and to report businesses or individuals involved in their production, distribution or sale.
The regulator has linked the policy to public-health concerns, particularly the accessibility of small, portable alcoholic drinks to children and young people. NAFDAC has said the measure is intended to help curb underage drinking, harmful alcohol consumption and substance abuse.
The crackdown is not an entirely new policy. NAFDAC had previously set a phase-out period for sachet alcohol and alcoholic drinks in small PET and glass containers, with the final deadline expiring in January 2024. The agency subsequently moved towards stricter enforcement of the prohibition.
NAFDAC’s Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, later disclosed that enforcement teams had found evidence of continued illegal production, including 100ml PET bottles and sachet packaging materials carrying recent production dates. The agency said some operators were still manufacturing the prohibited products despite the ban.
The enforcement has also raised concerns among workers and businesses in the alcohol industry, with labour groups and other stakeholders previously warning about potential job and economic losses arising from factory closures and the removal of the affected products from the market.
NAFDAC, however, has maintained that the operation is a public-health intervention and that compliant manufacturers operating within approved pack-size requirements are not the target of the crackdown. The agency has described the exercise as a sustained operation rather than a one-off campaign.
With enforcement teams already deployed nationwide, manufacturers, traders and other businesses dealing in the prohibited drinks now face increased regulatory scrutiny as NAFDAC moves to eliminate the banned products from Nigeria’s retail and distribution channels.
