Legal practitioner Liborous Oshoma has warned that the Federal Government’s planned ban on sachet alcohol will be ineffective unless strict regulations are enforced to control both sellers and consumers.
Speaking on Tuesday during an interview with Arise Television, Oshoma emphasized that banning sachet alcohol alone would not curb alcohol abuse if unlicensed sales continue unchecked.
“The people selling alcohol need to be licensed. If anyone can sell without authorization, then anyone can buy and consume without oversight,” he said.
The comments come ahead of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) enforcement of its nationwide ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets or bottles under 200 millilitres. The policy aims to curb widespread consumption of cheap, unregulated alcohol.
Oshoma highlighted that the problem is not the absence of policies but rather their poor implementation. “It is not enough to say we have banned. The challenge in Nigeria has always been enforcement,” he said.
He stressed that for the ban to be effective, authorities must ensure that only licensed vendors are allowed to sell alcohol and that sales are properly monitored.
Oshoma also commended NAFDAC for its proactive stance, recalling the agency’s prior crackdown on illegal pharmaceutical dealers in Lagos. “I like that NAFDAC is adamant and going headlong. It shows the government can enforce rules when it chooses to,” he added.
The lawyer warned that without proper regulation, consumers may simply switch to bottled alcohol, undermining the ban’s objectives. “Even if we ban sachets, people can still buy alcohol in bottles if enforcement is weak,” he noted.
Oshoma concluded that the success of the ban depends on effective monitoring, licensing, and strict enforcement to ensure that alcohol sales do not continue unchecked.
© 2025 Gossip News Now, a division of CHIEJOS HARBIAN DIGITAL MEDIA LTD. Contact us via admin@gossipnewsnow.online
