* Lawmakers warn of health crisis, youth addiction and social disorder from cheap liquor

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate, on Thursday, issued a decisive order to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), directing it to enforce a total ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small plastic bottles by December 2025, warning that no further extension of the deadline will be tolerated.

The upper chamber’s resolution followed an exhaustive debate on a motion sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South), who raised the alarm over NAFDAC’s repeated extensions of the phase-out date, despite the grave health and social risks posed by sachet-packaged alcohol.

Ekpenyong reminded the Senate that NAFDAC had initially fixed 2023 as the deadline before shifting it to 2024, and later to 2025, a pattern he said had emboldened manufacturers to lobby for further delays.

He warned that another extension would amount to a betrayal of public trust and a violation of Nigeria’s commitment to global health standards.

Ekpenyong said: “The harmful practice of putting alcohol in sachets makes it as easy to consume as sweets, even for children.

“It promotes addiction, impairs cognitive and psychomotor development and contributes to domestic violence, road accidents and other social vices.”

The motion drew wide bipartisan support, with lawmakers condemning the proliferation of cheap, high-alcohol-content drinks sold in small sachets, describing them as “silent poisons” targeted at vulnerable Nigerians.

Senator Anthony Ani (Ebonyi South) said sachet-packaged alcohol had become a menace in communities and schools. 

“These drinks are cheap, potent and easily accessible to minors. Every day we delay this ban, we endanger our children and destroy more futures,” he said.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the session, ruled in favour of the motion after what he described as a “sober and urgent debate”.

Akpabio said: “Any motion that concerns saving lives is urgent. If we don’t stop this extension, more Nigerians, especially the youth, will continue to be harmed. The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has spoken: by December 2025, sachet alcohol must become history.”

The Senate’s resolution underscored growing national anxiety over the health and social consequences of unregulated access to cheap alcohol. 

The lawmakers noted that such products have become commonplace near schools, markets and motor parks, often sold to minors for as little as N100.

According to the motion, the Federal Government, in 2018, entered into a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with key industry stakeholders, including NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), and the Association of Food, Beverage & Tobacco Employers, to phase out the packaging of high-strength alcohol in sachets due to public health concerns.

That agreement, which expired in 2023, was later extended by one year at the request of industry operators, to December 2025, to allow manufacturers time to adjust their production lines and exhaust old stock.

However, the Senate expressed concern that despite the grace period, some companies are lobbying for another extension, undermining the regulatory authority of NAFDAC and jeopardizing public health.

Ekpenyong said: “Some responsible manufacturers have already complied in good faith. But they are now suffering unfair competition from those who continue to produce and sell non-compliant products. This is both unethical and dangerous.”

The lawmakers cited Section 17(3)(f) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates government protection of children, young persons and the aged from exploitation and moral neglect, as justification for decisive intervention.

They also referenced Nigeria’s commitment to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) alcohol harm reduction framework, which discourages the sale of high-alcohol-content beverages in small, portable containers that promote binge drinking and underage access.

Adopting the motion, the Senate resolved that NAFDAC must not grant any further extension beyond the current December 2025 moratorium. 

It directed the agency and the Federal Ministry of Health to enforce the prohibition nationwide without delay and to ensure that no administrative or legal obstacles hinder implementation.

It further mandated the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to launch a nationwide sensitisation campaign to educate citizens, especially young people, on the dangers of consuming high-alcohol-content sachet drinks.

The Senate also called on the Federal Ministry of Health to expedite the public release of the long-awaited National Alcohol Policy, which contains a clear prohibition of alcohol packaging in sachet and small-volume formats.

The motion highlighted disturbing findings linking sachet alcohol to a rise in school dropouts, traffic accidents, domestic violence and crimes committed under intoxication. 

It also noted that pushing the moratorium further would weaken Nigeria’s standing as a responsible member of the global community and erode years of progress in public health policy.

In his closing remarks, Akpabio commended senators for taking what he described as a “historic and moral stand” to protect Nigerians from a “slow-killing culture”.

According to him, “This is not just about alcohol regulation. It is about safeguarding the mental and physical health of our people, protecting our children, and preserving the future of this nation. 

“We cannot allow sachet alcohol to keep destroying lives under the guise of business.”

With this resolution, the Senate has effectively placed NAFDAC and allied agencies under legislative mandate to ensure that by December 2025, sachet and small-volume alcoholic drinks are completely phased out across Nigeria, with no further extensions permitted.

Akpabio said: “The Senate has spoken clearly. The time for excuses is over. Let this harmful practice end, for the health, safety and sanity of our nation.”

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