By Abasi Ita
The Senate has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, to enforce the total ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small plastic bottles by December 2025, stressing that no further extension of the deadline will be permitted.
The resolution followed a debate on a motion sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, representing Cross River South, who raised concern over the continuous extension of the phase out date despite the increasing health and social damage associated with sachet packaged alcohol.
Senator Ekpenyong reminded the chamber that NAFDAC had initially set 2023 as the deadline before shifting it to 2024 and later to 2025. He said the repeated extensions had encouraged producers to lobby for more time, thereby weakening regulatory seriousness.
He argued that any further extension would amount to a breach of public trust and a reversal of Nigeria’s commitment to global best practices in alcohol control. According to him, alcohol packaged in sachets makes consumption cheap, convenient and attractive to minors, which fuels addiction, risky behaviour and long term health complications.
He stated that sachet alcohol contributes to domestic violence, school dropouts, declining mental health, road crashes and other social vices across communities.
The motion received overwhelming bipartisan support, with lawmakers describing sachet alcoholic drinks as silent poisons that target vulnerable Nigerians, especially young people and low income earners.
Senator Anthony Ani of Ebonyi South lamented the alarming proliferation of sachet alcohol around school environments and motor parks, noting that minors have easy access to them since they are sold for as low as one hundred naira.
He warned that daily consumption among teenagers and young adults is rising and that every additional day without a ban further endangers the future of many youths.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the session, described the debate as both sober and urgent. He maintained that any matter relating to the protection of lives must receive immediate attention. Akpabio affirmed that the Senate had taken a clear stand and that sachet alcohol must be removed from circulation by December 2025.
The Senate recalled that in 2018 the Federal Government signed a five year Memorandum of Understanding with NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, and the Association of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employers to phase out the sale of high content alcohol in sachets due to public health concerns.
That agreement expired in 2023, but was later extended by one year to enable manufacturers adjust production and exhaust old stock. However, the lawmakers expressed concern that some companies are still lobbying for another extension.
Adopting the motion, the Senate directed NAFDAC to enforce the ban without delay and the Federal Ministry of Health to ensure compliance across the country. It also mandated the National Orientation Agency to conduct nationwide sensitisation on the dangers of consuming sachet alcohol.
In his closing remarks, Senator Akpabio commended his colleagues for taking what he described as a historic and moral step toward safeguarding the mental and physical wellbeing of Nigerians, especially young people. He insisted that the country must end the harmful practice for the safety and future of the nation.