KEY POINTS

• The sachet alcohol ban crisis threatens millions of jobs.
• Labour says the directive bypassed fair stakeholder engagement.
• Union urges Senate to adopt the validated alcohol policy.

Nigeria’s food and beverage unions have warned that the Senate’s latest push to enforce a nationwide ban on alcoholic beverages in sachets and PET or glass bottles under 200ml could spark a major sachet alcohol ban crisis, deepening unemployment and disrupting already fragile industries.

The directive, issued to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), requires full enforcement by December 31, 2025, a move labour leaders say could devastate manufacturers and wipe out millions of jobs across the value chain.

Unions warn of severe economic fallout

At a briefing in Lagos, Jimoh Oyibo, president of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB), said workers are increasingly anxious as the implications of the ban could be “far-reaching, devastating and irreversible.”

Oyibo recalled that a similar enforcement action last year was suspended after labour protests and a House of Representatives public hearing where all stakeholders including NAFDAC made submissions. That process led to a one-year extension to allow the development of a National Alcohol Policy, validated in October 2025 with NAFDAC’s involvement.

He said the latest move bypasses due process. “It is troubling that the same NAFDAC has now approached the Senate, resulting in a unilateral directive that did not give stakeholders a fair hearing,” he added.

Industry faces huge losses from sachet alcohol ban crisis

FOBTOB estimates the ban could threaten more than 500,000 direct jobs and nearly five million indirect roles involving farmers, transporters, distributors, and marketers. The union also warned that manufacturers risk losing nearly N2 trillion in machinery and raw-material investments.

According to labour leaders, shutting regulated factories could push consumers toward smuggled and unsafe alcohol, heightening public-health risks while tax revenue declines.

“With rising unemployment and no safety nets, this ban will plunge families into poverty,” Oyibo said. “The very children the policy claims to protect may be forced out of school.”

The union urged lawmakers to adopt the validated National Alcohol Policy, which proposes regulated sales, stronger enforcement and school-based awareness programmes rather than outright prohibition.

Oyibo said manufacturers remain committed to meeting safety standards but insisted that government policies must not “destroy legitimate businesses and punish workers.”