Senate to NAFDAC: No More Delays, Sachet Alcohol Must Go by December 2025.

National Assembly finally draws a red line after seven years of shifting deadlines, factory lobbying and mounting youth casualties.

Abuja, 6 Nov 2025, 09:47 a.m. – The Senate yesterday turned off the tap on further extensions, ordering the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to “enforce without compromise” a total ban on the production, importation and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small PET bottles by 31 December 2025.

The resolution, adopted unanimously after a heated two-hour debate, means Nigeria will—at least on paper—join more than seventy countries that already prohibit single-serve liquor pouches linked to youth addiction, road deaths and domestic violence.

From MoU to Mayhem – How We Got Here

- 2018 – Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, FCCPC and industry groups sign a five-year Memorandum of Understanding to phase out sachet alcohol by 2023.
- 2023 – Deadline lapses; manufacturers plead for stock-clearance grace.
- 2024 – Federal Government grants a one-year moratorium, shifting terminal date to December 2025.
- Mid-2025 – Lobby intensifies again; some distillers seek another 18-month cushion.

“Time-Up” – Senate Pounds Gavel

Moving the motion of urgent national importance, Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong (Cross River South) told the chamber:
“Every extra day of delay is a fresh licence for under-age drinking, another classroom converted into a bar, another okada rider who will never see his family again.”
He reminded lawmakers that a sachet still retails for as little as ₦100, cheaper than a loaf of bread and “easier to open than a Coke”.

Voices from the Floor

- Senator Anthony Ani (Ebonyi South) – “This is slow poison sold as quick refreshment.”
- Senator Ireti Kingibe (FCT) – “Girls as young as 13 now binge-drink before WAEC exams; we must choose commerce or children.”
- Senate President Godswill Akpabio – “The Senate has spoken: December 2025 is final. No more shifting of goal-posts.”

What the Resolution Mandates

1. Zero extension beyond 31 December 2025.
2. NAFDAC & Federal Ministry of Health
Must commence nation-wide mop-up immediately.
3. National Orientation Agency (NOA) to run mass-media enlightenment on dangers of sachet alcohol.
4. Compliant manufacturers protected; recalcitrant firms risk factory seal-off and prosecution.
5. National Alcohol Policy—long stuck in draft—must be gazetted within 30 days.

Industry Reaction – Panic or Compliance?

The Distillers & Blenders Association (DIBAN) issued a late-night statement urging “realistic transition windows”, claiming ₦120 billion in stock and 18,000 direct jobs hang in the balance.

Meanwhile, leading compliant firms (e.g., Guinness, Nigerian Breweries) welcomed the Senate stance, arguing “fair competition has finally arrived”.

Health Data That Sealed the Deal

- WHO 2024 report: Nigeria records 34% of all alcohol-related road deaths in West Africa; 60% linked to high-strength sachet drinks.

- NAFDAC survey (2025): 1 in 4 secondary-school students admitted drinking sachet alcohol at least once a week.

- Lagos University Teaching Hospital: 500+ liver-failure cases aged 15–30 in past 18 months; >70% traced to cheap sachet liquor.

What Happens Next?

- NAFDAC enforcement squads are expected to begin factory audits next week.
- Border customs instructed to seize incoming sachet alcohol shipments.
- State governments urged to revoke kiosk licences still selling the product after 31 December.
- Any company caught post-deadline faces ₦50 million fine and product destruction under existing NAFDAC Act.

Bottom Line

After seven years of shifting deadlines, the red chamber has drawn a bright red line. Whether the line holds in the face of powerful distillery lobby, border smuggling and weak state enforcement will determine if December 2025 truly ends Nigeria’s ₦100-a-shot epidemic—or simply pushes it underground.

This has been The Red Hot Report from Pepper-Room. The news that bears it all.

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