A civil society group called on President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday to sack NAFDAC Director-General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, describing the agency’s enforcement of the sachet alcohol ban as illegal and an abuse of public office.
The Independent Public Service Accountability Watch (IPSAW) made the demand at a press conference in Abuja, led by its executive director, Ambassador Stephen Eriba. The group argued that NAFDAC’s enforcement of the ban on alcohol in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml violates the National Alcohol Policy and contradicts directives issued to allow pending stakeholder consultations to conclude.
It is the latest in a string of similar calls from pressure groups since enforcement began in January 2026. IPSAW’s case rests on familiar ground: that the ban will cost jobs across the value chain, drive consumers toward unregulated products, and reduce government revenue from legitimate manufacturers.
The economic argument has found no traction with the Federal Ministry of Health. In a counter-affidavit filed in February, the ministry confirmed that NAFDAC holds sole statutory authority to enforce the ban and that no further moratorium extension has been granted. The Senate had also directed the agency to resume strict enforcement, lending the policy its clearest legislative backing to date.
NAFDAC’s own survey data underpins the agency’s position. Roughly half of minors and underage individuals obtain alcohol from their own means, with close to 50% specifically patronising retailers selling in sachet packs and small PET bottles. Prof. Adeyeye has consistently cited these findings as justification for proceeding despite political and industry resistance.
Six months into enforcement, however, the ban has not cleared the market. A Sun Nigeria investigation published in mid-June found sachet alcohol still available in kiosks, motor parks and neighbourhood stores across major cities. Retailers in some areas said they were unaware the federal government had banned the products at all. That gap between regulatory intent and street-level reality is precisely what manufacturers and pressure groups point to when arguing enforcement is failing without harming the formal sector.
Drinkabl.media’s coverage of the sachet ban and its wider regulatory context, including the Anambra counterfeit bust in June, illustrates one direct consequence already playing out: enforcement vacuums tend to be filled by illicit trade rather than reduced consumption. The question IPSAW does not address is what replaces sachet alcohol if the ban holds. That tension sits at the centre of a debate Nigerian regulators have been managing since 2018, when industry groups first flagged the economic consequences of a packaging restriction that targets a format serving millions of low-income consumers.
NAFDAC had issued no official response to IPSAW’s June 17 allegations at the time of publication.
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