The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association have warned that enforcing a ban on alcoholic beverages sold in sachets and small PET bottles could jeopardize investments exceeding N400 billion across the alcoholic drinks value chain.

In a joint statement published on Monday, NECA’s Director-General, Adewale Oyerinde, and MAN’s Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, cautioned that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control’s renewed drive to prohibit the production and sale of sachet alcohol could have severe economic repercussions nationwide.

They noted that the wines and spirits value chain sustains hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and underpins substantial investments in manufacturing, packaging, logistics, and agriculture. Both private sector leaders warned that sudden regulatory moves, such as NAFDAC’s ban, could worsen unemployment and drive the growth of informal and unregulated markets.

Oyerinde and Ajayi-Kadir stated, “Research from the Food and Beverage Division of NECA and MAN shows that the sector directly and indirectly supports more than five hundred thousand jobs.

“These jobs span manufacturing plant workers, quality control technicians, distribution personnel, logistics drivers, warehouse and botanicals, and providers of packaging materials such as glass and staff, retail operators, hospitality employees, and farmers supplying grains and plastics. Investments linked to production lines, packaging technology, and logistics tailored to sachet and small PET formats alone are estimated to exceed N400bn.”

They highlighted that the combined value of production, distribution, and related services in the wines, spirits, and broader beverages sector exceeded N2 trillion in revenue in 2024.

The leaders added that the alcoholic drinks industry “makes a significant contribution to national excise and tax revenues, drives activity in manufacturing clusters, and supports local market vibrancy.”

NECA and MAN further warned that enforcement measures such as factory shutdowns, product seizures, and sudden compliance demands erode investor confidence and put formal jobs at risk.

They added, “Needless disruptive enforcement actions like factory shutdowns, output losses, product seizures, and abrupt compliance demands undermine investor confidence and risk hollowing out formal employment, pushing economic activity into informal and unregulated sectors where tax contributions and worker protections are absent.”

Oyerinde and Ajayi-Kadir emphasized that their organisations are not against regulation and acknowledge the need to protect public health and prevent underage drinking. “To be clear, both organisations are committed to and recognise the importance of protecting public health and preventing underage drinking in any form,” they said. They added, however, that any regulatory measures must be evidence-based, proportionate, and coherent.

They further explained that banning sachet alcohol from duly registered companies would not effectively curb alcohol abuse or underage drinking. “The ban on alcoholic beverages in sachet, produced by duly registered and regulated companies in Nigeria, will not address the problem of alcohol abuse and consumption by minors.

“It will only open the floodgates for unregulated, smuggled and unwholesome variants, while at the same time, lead to job losses, loss of investment, loss of government revenues, value chain disruption and decimation of livelihoods.”

However, MAN and NECA criticised what they called regulatory inconsistency, pointing out that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation had suspended the ban on December 15, 2025, to allow for further stakeholder consultation, while the House of Representatives had previously urged caution following a public hearing.

They warned that moving ahead with enforcement despite these directives risks undermining confidence in Nigeria’s regulatory framework.

They said, “This regulatory inconsistency has left operators, investors, and workers uncertain about the rule of law. It undermines confidence in Nigeria’s regulatory environment, discourages investment, and erodes trust between government, regulators, and the private sector.”

Both groups called for the immediate suspension of enforcement in line with Federal Government directives. They urged regulators to prioritise access control, public education, and retail-level enforcement rather than targeting packaging formats.

They also demanded the release of scientific risk assessments specific to sachet alcohol and stronger enforcement of age verification at points of sale.

Oyerinde and Ajayi-Kadir stressed that sachet and small PET products had been tested, registered, and approved by NAFDAC, with alcohol by volume levels in line with global standards.