Bennett Oghifo
Retailers of alcoholic beverages in Lagos State have intensified opposition to the federal government’s ban on sachet and small-volume alcoholic drinks, accusing the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) of destroying their businesses and livelihoods through aggressive enforcement.
Members of the Lagos State chapter of Concerned Drink Sellers and Traders Across Nigeria, who took their protest to the streets of Lagos, said sweeping raids, confiscation of merchandise and the seizure of unsold inventory had wiped out their working capital and plunged thousands of petty traders and their dependants into financial distress.
The retailers appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly and NAFDAC to suspend the current enforcement regime and adopt alternative regulatory measures that would protect public health without destroying the livelihoods of small-scale traders.
They said the ban and subsequent enforcement had left many retailers with goods they could neither return to suppliers nor recover their investments from, worsening the financial pressures already confronting households amid the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
“On many occasions, the enforcers go on aggressive operations confiscating goods and putting these petty traders in a state of hopelessness. Over 90 per cent of the retailers you see here today are on bank loans that they have no idea of how to pay back.
“Where does the government want them to run to now? We are calling on President Tinubu and NAFDAC to help us,” the protesters said.
The association argued that sachet alcoholic beverages, although subject to regulation, remained an important source of daily income for thousands of Nigerians operating small shops and neighbourhood outlets.
According to the traders, the enforcement has created a significant livelihood crisis because many of those affected depend on the business for daily household expenses, school fees, rent and other basic needs.
Imeh Iyang, a retailer who participated in the protest, said the government should consider measures that address concerns over alcohol consumption without eliminating the businesses of legitimate retailers.
“My wife and I sell sachet alcoholic beverages as legal retailers. That’s our legitimate means of livelihood. Most of the women gathered here today do the same business to cater for their families.
“Many of them are single mothers and widows. How does the government want them to survive this harsh economy?” he asked.
Another retailer, Lola Omololu, who identified herself as a widow, said the enforcement, coupled with what she described as repeated arrests by security personnel, had placed her family under severe financial pressure.
“Since I lost my husband, this petty trade is my only means of paying bills and feeding my children. I can’t go into prostitution or do anything against the law to feed my children. The government should help us,” she pleaded.
A retailer who requested anonymity said the protest underscored the wider challenge of unemployment and informal-sector dependence in the country.
“The mammoth crowd we are seeing here today are self-employed. We don’t expect the government to create jobs for everybody. But we don’t expect the same government to destroy the jobs the helpless masses created for themselves either,” he said.
However, NAFDAC has maintained that the enforcement is consistent with its public-health mandate and is aimed at protecting young people and other vulnerable groups from cheap, easily concealed alcoholic products.
The agency has specifically targeted alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET or glass bottles below 200ml, arguing that such products facilitate excessive and underage consumption.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, recently directed manufacturers of affected alcoholic products to recall and destroy products covered by the restriction.
The agency has also stressed that manufacturers, distributors and traders were given a transition period to comply with the policy, including extensions, with the final deadline expiring at the end of December 2025.
NAFDAC has therefore justified the current enforcement as the implementation of a policy for which stakeholders had been given sufficient time to prepare.
But the retailers insisted that the economic consequences of the crackdown could no longer be ignored, especially given the broader pressures confronting households and small businesses.
They urged the federal government and lawmakers to intervene by reviewing the enforcement strategy and considering measures such as controlled distribution, stronger age restrictions, public education and targeted monitoring rather than what they described as indiscriminate raids and confiscation.
A consumer, Temitayo Shodeke, also riticized the enforcement, describing its timing as particularly harsh amid the prevailing economic hardship.
“In this harsh economy, the government decision in addition to NAFDAC’s enforcement is brutal, to say the least. Is selling sachet alcoholic beverage a crime?
“Do they want people to commit crimes before taking care of their basic needs or to fold their arms in idleness and die in extreme hunger?” he asked.
The dispute highlights the growing tension between public-health regulation and the economic survival of millions of Nigerians operating in the informal sector, with retailers demanding that the government balance its efforts to curb harmful alcohol consumption with measures to protect livelihoods.
For the traders, the immediate concern remains the recovery of their capital, the protection of their businesses and a regulatory framework that, they argued, would allow them to remain economically active while addressing legitimate concerns over alcohol abuse.
