Economy
Sachet Alcohol Ban: NECA Demands Respect for Due Process
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has expressed concern over the renewed enforcement of a ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small PET bottles by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The group’s director general, Mr Wale-Smatt Oyerinde, warned that the action of the agency could have adverse economic and governance consequences.
NECA is the organisation expressing worry of this issue after the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) raised concerns about it earlier this week.
Mr Oyerinde said the enforcement contradicts a directive from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation dated December 15, 2025, which suspended the ban, as well as a March 14, 2024 resolution of the House of Representatives calling for restraint and broader stakeholder engagement.
The NECA chief said the continued enforcement is already disrupting legitimate businesses, unsettling ongoing investments, and putting thousands of jobs at risk, while weakening confidence in Nigeria’s regulatory environment.
According to Mr Oyerinde, regulation should be based on evidence, proportionality and the rule of law. He noted that the affected products were tested, registered and periodically revalidated under NAFDAC’s regulatory procedures, with alcohol content clearly labelled in line with internationally recognised Alcohol by Volume standards.
He added that underage drinking is primarily an enforcement issue at the retail level rather than a packaging issue, and called for stricter licensing, monitoring, and sanctions for erring retailers rather than a blanket ban on certain product formats.
NECA boss also warned that sachet and small-pack formats reflect affordability realities for many adult consumers, and that eliminating them could push demand into informal, unregulated markets, increasing public health risks and shrinking the formal economy.
He further expressed concern that enforcement efforts are focused on a regulated segment of the beverage industry while more dangerous illicit narcotics and abused pharmaceuticals continue to circulate widely among young people.
On the economic impact, NECA said the wines and spirits value chain supports significant direct and indirect employment across manufacturing, packaging, distribution, transportation, retail and agriculture.
It cautioned that sudden regulatory actions could threaten livelihoods, reduce government revenue and undermine investor confidence.
Addressing environmental concerns, NECA said plastic waste issues should be tackled through improved waste management, recycling systems and extended producer responsibility frameworks, rather than selective product bans.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
