- Sachet Alcohol Ban Not Enough, Buyers Should Be Identified – Oshoma
- He described governance as a collective responsibility that requires firm enforcement and sustained monitoring
- Warns that without strict regulation of alcohol sales, banning sachets alone would simply shift consumption
A legal practitioner, Liborous Oshoma, has argued that the Federal Government’s planned ban on sachet alcohol is insufficient on its own, stressing that effective regulation must include identifying buyers and licensing sellers to curb abuse.
Eko Hot Blog reports that Oshoma made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television, as the deadline for the enforcement of the sachet alcohol ban draws closer.
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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has announced plans to begin full enforcement of the ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and small bottles below 200 ml.
Reacting to the development, Oshoma said the problem goes beyond packaging, insisting that weak regulation of sellers and unrestricted access by buyers are at the core of alcohol abuse in the country.
“Those who sell alcohol must be properly licensed. If anybody can sell, whether licensed or not, then anybody can buy and consume without due process,” he said.
According to him, government policies often fail not because they are poorly conceived, but because they are poorly implemented. He described governance as a collective responsibility that requires firm enforcement and sustained monitoring.
Oshoma commended NAFDAC for its consistency in enforcement, citing the agency’s past actions against illegal pharmaceutical dealers and producers of fake drinks across markets in Lagos and other parts of the country.
“I like the fact that NAFDAC is adamant and has decided to go headlong. But it is not just enough to say we have banned something. The challenge in this country has never been policy, it has always been implementation,” he stated.
He warned that without strict regulation of alcohol sales, banning sachets alone would simply shift consumption to bottled products, leaving the core problem unresolved.
“There is a need to know who can afford to buy alcohol and who is authorised to sell it. If anyone can sell and anyone can buy, even after the ban, people will still access alcohol in bottles and consume it without control,” Oshoma added.
He maintained that a comprehensive framework involving licensing, monitoring, and enforcement was necessary to ensure that the sachet alcohol ban achieves its intended public health and social objectives.
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