Employees of distilling companies have vowed to besiege the Lagos office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control today (Wednesday) in protest as the Federal Government announced the nationwide crackdown on sachet alcohol beverages and PET bottles below 200ml.
The planned protest was outlined in a notice obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday.
The protesters said they would gather by 8:30 am to express their grievances against the ban.
The notice read, “You are invited to cover the protest of the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria against the ban on alcoholic sachets, tomorrow (Wednesday, March 4, 2026) at the NAFDAC office, Oshodi. Time is 8:30 a.m.”
The scheduled protest will be the eighth demonstration by distillers in 2026.
They have repeatedly warned that the ban could render no fewer than five million Nigerians jobless.
On Tuesday, the Federal Government formally flagged off a nationwide enforcement and public enlightenment campaign on the ban of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and small PET and glass bottles below 200 millilitres.
The joint press conference, held in Abuja, was organised by the National Orientation Agency, in collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
The ban, which took effect from January 1, 2026, targets the production, distribution and sale of alcohol in sachets and in bottles smaller than 200ml, as part of efforts to curb underage drinking and harmful consumption patterns.
Speaking at the briefing, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, said the enforcement followed years of consultations, extensions and alarming survey findings on alcohol consumption among minors.
“We are here to ensure that the ban on sachet alcohol and alcohol in small bottles less than 200ml remains banned.
“The availability and easy access to alcohol have been identified as a contributory factor to the increasing alcohol consumption among minors,” she said.
Adeyeye explained that discussions around regulating high-concentration alcohol in sachets dated back to 2018 when industry groups raised concerns about the impact on their businesses.
“In 2018, the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria took NAFDAC to the Ministry of Health that we are trying to reduce the concentration of alcohol in sachets.
“By that time, it was like 50 per cent in the sachet. Beer is about six to eight per cent. So you can imagine how concentrated that is. And the fact that it is easy to access, it is easy to conceal. We did not know how bad it was.
“However, the Ministry of Health called all of us, including FCCPC. DIBAN and AFBTE said that their businesses will be destroyed,” she said.
According to her, the former Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, granted the trade groups a five-year moratorium to restructure their operations, which elapsed in February 2024, prompting NAFDAC to begin enforcement in line with its statutory mandate.
“In 2024, February 1, five years after, we started enforcement because our mandate is to regulate and control the manufacturing, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale and use of self-regulated products.
“They resisted us. They took us to the committee on NAFDAC at the National Assembly, which told us to suspend what we were doing,” the NAFDAC boss stated.
She stated that further delays followed until December 2024, when the Minister of Health, Prof Muhammad Pate, granted an additional one-year extension.
She noted that the Senate later directed the agency to resume strict enforcement.
Central to the renewed enforcement, she said, were findings from national surveys conducted to assess the impact of sachet alcohol on underage Nigerians.
“The result was damning to this country. Why? It was found that 54.3 per cent of minors and underage individuals obtain alcohol by themselves from various sources.
“49.9 per cent of them patronise retailers of drinks sold in sachet packs and PET bottles. 50 per cent of our children drink alcohol.
“Of those who procure drinks for themselves, 47.2 per cent of minors and 48.8 per cent of underage procure drinks in sachets because it is easy to conceal.
“Whether you are a good parent or you are a bad parent, it doesn’t really matter. These sachets are easy to conceal, and that is what NAFDAC has banned,” Prof Adeyeye added.
The DG further stated that children as young as nine years old were found to consume alcohol in the survey, with binge drinking notably reported in some states.
Highlighting the health implications, she said underage drinking posed grave risks.
She explained, “Alcohol can damage the hippocampus memory centre in the brain and prefrontal cortex, leading to permanent issues with learning, memory and impulse control.
“Binge drinking is common. Risking alcohol poisoning can cause fatal shutdowns of breathing and heart rate.
“Youth who begin drinking before age 15, the minors and underage in our study, are 41 per cent more likely to become dependent on alcohol, and this study also shows that they graduate to start taking cocaine and other narcotics.”
The DG linked alcohol abuse to broader social challenges, adding, “In our country, it is responsible for banditry. It is responsible for kidnapping. You cannot be in your right mind and point a gun at somebody. It starts with alcohol and then goes on to hard drugs.”
Concluding her remarks, she said, “Access to alcohol by children can be limited if the pack sizes, such as sachets and small volume bottles that can be easily concealed, are not made available. And that ban is going to ensure that.
“A ban on small pack sizes can reduce the menace of underage drinking. Consumption of alcohol should raise alarm for parents, teachers, religious leaders and the community at large.”
The Director-General of NOA, Lanre Issa-Onilu, described the campaign as a united front to protect Nigerians.
“Today, we are taking a united stand for the health, safety and protection of Nigerian consumers,” he said.
Issa-Onilu added that the decision to ban sachet alcohol was a deliberate public health intervention.
“For too long, sachet alcohol has been dangerously accessible. It is inexpensive. It is portable. It is easy to conceal.
“In many rural and semi-urban communities, it became easier for a young person to obtain high-strength alcohol than to access proper guidance and protection. When affordability meets vulnerability, the consequences are profound,” the DG said.
Issa-Onilu said NOA would deploy its nationwide structures to drive awareness and compliance.
He added, “With 818 offices nationwide and operational structures across all 774 local government areas, we will ensure that this message reaches every community.
“Let it be clearly stated: consumer protection is public protection. Market responsibility is national responsibility. When products undermine health and safety, the government must act in the interest of the people.
“No nation prospers when its youth are caught in cycles of preventable addiction. No society advances when harmful practices become normalised.”
He urged parents, community leaders, retailers and distributors to comply with the new policy and support enforcement efforts.
“Together, through awareness, compliance and collective vigilance, we can build a healthier, safer and more responsible nation,” he stated.
