By Florence Onuegbu
Lagos, Dec. 30, 2025
The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the leading voice for organized businesses in Nigeria, has launched a robust critique of the government’s ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small bottles under 200ml. NECA argues the policy is a blunt instrument that fails to address the root causes of alcohol abuse while inflicting severe collateral damage on the economy and employment.
In a detailed media briefing in Lagos, NECA’s Director-General, Mr. Wale Smatt-Oyerinde, framed the ban as a policy misstep with far-reaching negative consequences. He emphasized that while public health concerns regarding underage and irresponsible consumption are valid, a blanket prohibition is counterproductive and ignores Nigeria’s complex socio-economic realities.
The Unintended Consequences: Smuggling, Job Losses, and Investment Flight
Smatt-Oyerinde outlined a cascade of potential negative outcomes:
- Boom for Smugglers & Illicit Trade: He highlighted Nigeria’s vast, porous borders with over 1,000 unmanned entry points. A ban creates an instant vacuum that will be filled by smugglers importing unregulated, potentially dangerous products. This not only defeats the public health goal but also drains revenue from the formal economy and strengthens criminal networks.
- Mass Job Losses and Factory Closures: The sachet alcohol value chain is extensive, involving manufacturers, distributors, retailers (especially small-scale vendors), and raw material suppliers. A sudden ban threatens tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Smatt-Oyerinde pointedly asked, “Looking at the overall economic objectives, where do you throw the jobs that would be lost?”
- Chilling Signal to Investors: He warned that such abrupt regulatory action undermines investor confidence. “We’re not worried about the business investment that will be lost. We’re not worried about the consequences of the message we are communicating to other investors,” he stated, framing it as a deterrent to both domestic and foreign capital needed for growth.
A Call for Nuanced, Multi-Stakeholder Solutions
Rather than a ban, NECA advocates for a holistic strategy focused on enforcement, education, and industry collaboration:
- Strengthening Institutions: Smatt-Oyerinde argued for empowering regulatory and social institutions. This includes robust enforcement of existing laws against underage sales, drunk driving, and public intoxication.
- Investing in Public Awareness: He called for sustained public health campaigns in schools and communities to promote responsible consumption, akin to strategies used for tobacco control.
- Collaborative Regulation: NECA urges the government to engage deeply with manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and health experts to design “win-win” solutions. These could include stricter labeling, QR codes for traceability, investment in community education by producers, or controlled distribution channels, instead of an outright ban.
Broader Economic Context and NECA’s 2025 Advocacy
The sachet alcohol debate was placed within NECA’s broader assessment of 2025. Smatt-Oyerinde acknowledged the present administration’s economic reforms had brought some “macroeconomic stability,” but stressed the urgent need for these gains to translate into a “more favourable microeconomic environment”—meaning tangible benefits like lower costs and higher wages for ordinary Nigerians in 2026.
He reiterated NECA’s commitment to tripartite engagement with government and organized labour to bridge disparities and foster a profitable environment for both business and citizens. The association’s stance on the sachet ban exemplifies its core philosophy: that sustainable solutions emerge from dialogue and evidence-based policy, not blanket edicts that risk economic harm. (NAN)
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Edited by Oluwafunke Ishola
