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CSOs urge National Assembly to pass Alcohol Control Bill, cite rising health risks to Nigerians – EnviroNews
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A coalition of Nigerian civil society organisations has called on the National Assembly to urgently pass the National Alcohol Control Bill, 2026, warning that delays in its enactment are exposing millions of Nigerians, particularly children and young people, to alcohol-related health and social risks.
The organisations also urged lawmakers to ensure that the proposed legislation becomes law within the lifetime of the 10th National Assembly, warning that the ongoing electioneering season must not be allowed to derail its passage.
The call was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the Nigeria Civil Society Convening on Alcohol Policy Advocacy Action, held on November 2, 2026, in Abuja.
The one-day convening was organised by the Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) and Motivator’s Crib Africa (MCA) to mobilise civil society organisations behind the proposed legislation and strengthen advocacy for comprehensive alcohol regulation in Nigeria.
The bill seeks to establish a framework for regulating alcohol marketing, reducing alcohol-related harm and protecting vulnerable groups, particularly children and young people.
Executive Director of RDI, Philip Jakpor, said civil society had a critical responsibility to ensure that the pursuit of profits by alcohol companies did not take precedence over the health and safety of Nigerians.
Similarly, the Executive Director of MCA, Chijioke Nwokocha, warned that continued delays in passing the legislation threatened the lives of vulnerable Nigerians, especially young people.
Participants at the meeting examined patterns of alcohol consumption in Nigeria, the activities of multinational alcohol corporations and the effects of alcohol use on public health and the country’s socio-economic development.
According to the communiqué, alcohol remains a major contributor to preventable deaths in Nigeria, citing figures from the World Health Organisation’s Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health, which attributed 42,120 liver cirrhosis deaths, 15,365 road accidents and 4,687 cancer-related deaths to alcohol.
The organisations said alcohol-related harm continued to undermine human capital development, reduce workforce productivity, increase public healthcare expenditure and contribute to violence.
They also accused the alcohol industry of frustrating efforts to prevent alcohol-related harm through political interference, resistance to regulation, corporate social responsibility activities and aggressive marketing strategies targeting young people.
The communiqué expressed concern over the proliferation of alcoholic drinks in sachets and small PET bottles despite the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)’s ban on the products.
It alleged that unscrupulous producers continued to manufacture and distribute the products, making them easily accessible to children and young people.
The organisations further raised concerns about inadequate coordination among government agencies responsible for enforcing existing alcohol regulations.
They identified digital marketing, lifestyle branding and online content that glamorises alcohol consumption as major channels through which young people are exposed to alcohol promotion.
Citing a recent NAFDAC survey, the coalition claimed that about 50 per cent of Nigerian children as young as nine years old were exposed to or engaged in alcohol consumption, often through cheap and easily concealed sachet and small-bottle products.
The groups also warned that the country’s drinking culture was under pressure from sustained alcohol marketing, noting that 74 per cent of Nigerians reportedly lived free from alcohol consumption.
To address these concerns, the coalition called on the National Assembly to strengthen the Nigeria Alcohol Policy and its Multisectoral Implementation Plan (2026–2030), introduced by the Federal Ministry of Health, by providing a binding statutory framework with enforceable penalties.
It also urged lawmakers to protect alcohol policy development and implementation from undue commercial influence, insisting that public health decisions should be guided by independent scientific evidence rather than industry interests.
The organisations called for increased public awareness campaigns on the dangers of alcohol consumption and stronger collaboration among government agencies to enforce existing regulations.
They specifically advocated improved enforcement of drink-driving regulations through adequate sobriety testing and monitoring at motor parks to prevent alcohol-related road crashes, injuries and deaths.
The coalition also called on the government to provide adequate financial and logistical resources for nationwide enforcement of the ban on alcoholic drinks in sachets and miniature bottles.
In addition, it urged the government to involve civil society organisations at every stage of alcohol policy development and implementation, including public hearings.
The communiqué stressed that the speedy passage of the National Alcohol Control Bill would significantly improve public health and the socio-economic well-being of Nigerians by providing protection for women, children and other vulnerable groups.
The statement was endorsed by 22 civil society organisations and advocacy groups, including RDI, MCA, the Initiative for Community Development and Advancement of Social Orientation (ICODASO), the Association of Advocates Against Alcohol Harm in Nigeria (ASAAHN), Civil Society on Mental Health and Drug Demand Reduction, and Women in Extractives.
The coalition called on lawmakers to demonstrate their commitment to public health by prioritising the passage of the bill without further delay.
