Small retailers across Ogun State are reporting sharply weaker sales as NAFDAC and state police intensify a joint crackdown on sachet alcohol and alcoholic drinks in PET bottles below 200ml, a campaign now rippling into markets far beyond Abeokuta.
The operation began in Abeokuta and is being extended statewide. NAFDAC says its teams are checking markets, motor parks, retail outlets, bars, warehouses and factories to clear banned products from circulation.
For traders, the immediate problem is lost turnover. Bukkola Adebayo, who sells at Oke-Ilewo in Abeokuta, said the restriction had cut customer traffic and argued that traders holding existing stock deserved more notice before enforcement began.
The pricing gap is making adjustment harder. Kafila Odunjo, who trades at Ita-Oshin, said customers who once bought sachets for N100, N150 or N200 often cannot afford bottles selling for about N1,000, leaving retailers with fewer low-cost products and customers with fewer affordable options.
Some traders are pushing back quietly. Olabunmi Ogunbowale, who sells at Totoro, said she had shifted her sachet alcohol sales to nighttime since the trade remains her main income source.
Enforcement has triggered open protests in Oyo State, where retailers under the banner of the Concerned Drink Sellers, Distributors and Traders Across Nigeria demonstrated in Ibadan, appealing to President Bola Tinubu and NAFDAC’s Director-General to reconsider the pace of confiscations. Spokesperson Oluwatosin Adebisi said many traders had sunk loans and personal savings into the business. Iyabo Balogun, representing sachet traders in Ibadan, told a separate rally that most sellers were widows for whom the trade was their only livelihood.
Traders in Mokola, Ibadan, and across Oshogbo, Onitsha, Aba, Lagos and Abuja are similarly counting losses, with some shutting kiosks entirely after stock seizures. NAFDAC’s Oyo State coordinator, Isaac Kolawole, has acknowledged the protests but maintained that public health concerns drive the policy, urging traders to explore alternative livelihoods rather than press for a reversal.
For NAFDAC, affordability and portability remain central to its case. The agency says sachets and small bottles are easily accessed by children and young people, and nationwide sweeps have uncovered continued production of banned formats, including fresh sachet and 100ml PET output.
The strain is also reaching consumers. Abdulwasiu Folorunsho, an Abeokuta commercial motorcycle rider, said bottled beer at N1,500 or N2,000 was beyond his budget, making sachets his default choice, though he acknowledged the risks of excessive drinking.
Retailers and distributors now face the cost of clearing prohibited inventory, while consumers are being pushed toward formats that demand significantly higher spending. Ogun police have pledged security support for NAFDAC’s teams, and the agency says enforcement will continue until compliance is achieved nationwide.
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