Nigeria’s federal government has instructed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to stop all enforcement actions connected to the proposed ban on sachet alcohol and 200 millilitre polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle alcoholic products.
The order was announced in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital, by Terrence Kuanum, Special Adviser on Public Affairs to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. He said the government also warned NAFDAC to stop sealing factories and warehouses over the matter.
Kuanum said the directive followed a joint intervention by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the National Security Adviser, Nigeria’s central security coordination office. He said both offices raised concerns about possible security consequences if enforcement continues before the country’s National Alcohol Policy is fully implemented.
The statement said: “Accordingly, all actions, decisions, or enforcement measures relating to the ongoing ban on sachet alcohol are to be suspended pending the final consultations and implementation of the National Alcohol Policy and the issuance of a final directive,” the statement read.
Kuanum said the National Alcohol Policy had been signed by the Federal Ministry of Health in line with a directive of Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. However, he said the two offices insisted that NAFDAC must not carry out any enforcement measures until the policy is fully implemented and further directives are issued.
The federal government said the measures to be suspended include factory shutdowns, warehouse sealing, and public emphasis on the sachet alcohol ban.
According to the statement, the continued sealing of warehouses and what it described as a “de facto ban” on sachet alcohol products, without a harmonised policy framework, was already disrupting the economy and creating security risks. It said the situation could affect jobs, supply chains, and informal distribution networks across the country.
Kuanum said the directive restated an earlier instruction from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in December 2025, which suspended actions connected to the proposed ban while consultations continued and a final decision was awaited.
He added that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation had also received a letter from the House of Representatives Committee on Food and Drugs Administration and Control, dated November 13, 2025. Nigeria’s House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the National Assembly, the federal legislature. The letter raised concerns over NAFDAC’s proposed enforcement actions and referred to existing National Assembly resolutions on the issue.
The statement said the letter, referenced NASS/10/HR/CT.53/77 and signed by the Deputy Chairman of the committee, Hon. Uchenna Okonkwo, urged attention to the parliamentary position and the need for caution.
The federal government said it is considering legislative resolutions, public health concerns, economic implications, and national interest factors linked to the proposed restrictions. It said the participation of the Office of the National Security Adviser shows the issue is no longer only a regulatory matter, and it warned that enforcing the ban too early, without coordinated policy implementation, could destabilise communities, worsen unemployment, and trigger security challenges.
The government said Nigerians and industry stakeholders will be informed of a final decision after consultations and inter-agency coordination, in what it described as the interest of public health, economic stability, and national security.