The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) has cautioned the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) against succumbing to pressure from the alcohol and beverage industry as it enforces the ban on alcoholic drinks sold in sachets and small-sized containers of 200ml or less.

RDI in a statement by its Executive Director, Philip Jakpor, on Friday described the resistance from industry groups and allied labour organisations as blackmail tactics aimed at weakening a policy designed to protect public health, particularly that of children and young people.

The enforcement exercise, which began on January 22, 2026, follows years of engagement between NAFDAC and alcohol manufacturers. In December 2018, industry bodies, including the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria, signed an agreement with NAFDAC and the Federal Ministry of Health to phase out sachet alcohol by January 31, 2024.

Despite missing that deadline, manufacturers were granted further extensions to allow for compliance.
However, groups such as the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB), the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) have opposed the policy, citing fears of job losses and business disruption.

Responding to these claims, Jakpor, said the arguments were misleading and ignored the far-reaching health consequences of cheap, easily accessible alcohol.

“NAFDAC must not be intimidated by the usual rhetoric of the alcohol industry,” Jakpor said. “This ban is long overdue. The claim of massive job losses is imaginary and has always been used by the industry to protect profits at the expense of public health.”

Jakpor stressed that alcohol-related harm remains a major but under-addressed driver of non-communicable diseases and mental health disorders in Nigeria, adding that children are among the worst affected.

“Science has clearly shown that early exposure to alcohol damages developing physiological systems. Children are victims of this menace, and the nation pays the price in long-term health and social costs,” he said.

RDI also referenced the Movendi International 2025 Big Alcohol Exposed Report, which documented over 1,300 cases and 77 independent studies detailing how alcohol corporations globally interfere with evidence-based policies through lobbying and front groups.

“What we are witnessing in Nigeria is part of a deliberate and recognisable global strategy,” Jakpor noted. “The sustained effort to frustrate this ban reinforces how the alcohol industry operates across different political and institutional spaces.”

Commending NAFDAC and its Director-General, Professor Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, RDI said the agency’s stance places the well-being of Nigerians above profit motives.

“This policy is epochal,” Jakpor added. “By standing firm, NAFDAC is setting an example for other African countries trapped in the alcohol industry’s web of lies. Nigerians fully support this action, and the industry’s false narratives will fail.”