Dike Onwuamaeze

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has expressed concern over the recent directive issued by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to outrightly ban the production and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and small bottles by December 31, 2025.

The association stated that it would cause a loss of over N1.9 trillion in investment, and mass retrenchment of over 500,000 direct employees in the sector.

Director General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir,  expressed this view yesterday in a public statement, recalling that the NAFDAC’s directive followed a resolution reportedly passed by the Senate at its sitting on Thursday, November 6, 2025.

Ajayi-Kadir emphasised that the issues concerning the ban on alcohol in sachets and small Polyethylene Terephylate (PET) bottles had been resolved by an enlarged committee that comprised all the stakeholders and NAFDAC representatives that validated the National Alcohol Policy in October 2025.

He stressed that this unexpected development was in dissonance with all stakeholders’ efforts on the matter and completely at variance with the subsisting position of the House of Representatives on the same issue.

He said: “This pronouncement, which we believe is counterproductive and forebodes economic dislocation of significant proportions for the nation at this period, will have serious consequences for the now stabilising economy for the following reasons that includes loss of over N1.9 trillion investment, largely by the indigenous Nigerian companies and consequential mass retrenchment of over 500,000 direct employees and approximately 5 million indirect jobs through contracts, marketing and other logistics.”

He also pointed out that the ban could orchestrate a reduction in capacity utilisation in manufacturing, which in recent quarters began to gradually improve on account of the industry’s contribution as a component of the food and beverages sector as well as a loss of indigenous businesses that may gradually obliterate local entrepreneurship development in the economy.

Besides, MAN noted that it was important that the logic of the ban should be further interrogated because the advent of sale of alcohol in sachets is an innovation to serve adults with low budget who desire the product and should have a right of choice. 

“The ban would, therefore, deny them the opportunity to exercise that right. In addition and on a positive side, availability in small portions could also discourage abuse in bigger portions. It is equally important to note that the alcohol served in sachets by local producers are produced under hygienic conditions and certified by our regulatory agencies.

“To ban the product would open a floodgate of illicit and unwholesome substances that are not subject to regulation and beyond the control of the relevant agencies. These ones operate under the radar and would have a devastating effect on the consumers, young and old,” Ajayi-Kadir said.

He added that once there is an established appetite for a product and it is not illegal, effective control and regulation is the most sustainable way to manage access, and not ban. He warned that a ban would also literally yield the market to the influx of foreign brands, which are mostly smuggled.

He said: “Apart from possible unwholesomeness, this will be at the expense of excluded domestic producers and loss of revenue for the Government.  We, therefore, make a  strident appeal for an expedited endorsement and implementation of  the validated Nigeria National Alcohol Policy and its multi-sectoral implementation framework. We believe that this will make the implementation of the unwarranted ban unnecessary.”

MAN, therefore, appealed to the Senate to rescind the order on the ban of sale of alcoholic beverages in sachet and for NAFDAC to be restrained from implementing the ban from December 31st 2025.

It said that Nigeria should be mindful of the economic implications of unnecessary  sudden regulatory shifts that could have significant implications for legitimate manufacturers, thousands of employees and informal value chain operators across the country.

Ajayi Kadir stressed that MAN has always supported measures that remove unsafe products from the market.

“We have only maintained that such decisions should be supported by empirical facts and not emotional persuasions or appeal to guided public emotions. To succumb to these scenarios is a costly mistake, as it compromises jobs, livelihoods and activates other unintended consequences.

“MAN recommits to working closely with our members engaged in the production of alcoholic beverages in sachets to adhere to all regulations and standards. We are actively involved in monitoring their public campaigns and efforts to ensure restricted access, prevention of sale to the underage and responsible consumption,” the MAN chief stated.

Ajayi-Kadir added that earlier directive for a one-year extension by the Ministry of Health, which culminated into the consideration and validation of the draft National Alcohol Policy by stakeholders should have been considered before any major official pronouncement by another arm of the government.

He said: “We also believe that a stakeholders’ consultation, either through a public hearing or focused meetings with relevant stakeholders in the alcohol beverages industry, should have been called by the relevant Senate Committee before a ban is ordered. This was the route that was painstakingly followed by the House of Representatives in the recent past.”

Ajayi-Kadir further stressed that it is therefore necessary to state that the reported directive by the Senate for an outright ban is unfair and against the run of play in the industry, given the fact that the upper chamber appears only to have considered the opinion of NAFDAC.

“It is our position that NAFDAC should have presented its opinion to the Committee and the Ministry during the validation, rather than by-passing these processes and opting to approach the National Assembly without giving other stakeholders the opportunity to be consulted or to respond,” the statement stressed.

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