By Abdullahi Lukman
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed substandard, unregistered food, drugs, and cosmetic products valued at an estimated N1,367,000,000 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The destruction exercise, which took place recently, was part of NAFDAC’s routine efforts to rid the nation’s market of harmful and unapproved goods that pose serious health risks to consumers.
In her address during the operation, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, represented by Mr. Festus Ukadike, explained that the exercise was in line with the agency’s mandate to safeguard public health.
She stressed that NAFDAC’s activities in this area are continuous, with the agency conducting regular surveillance and enforcement across all zones of the country, including the FCT.
Prof. Adeyeye reaffirmed that NAFDAC’s key objective is to protect Nigerian consumers from dangerous, substandard, and counterfeit products, saying, “We are committed to ensuring that Nigeria’s supply chain is free from these harmful products.”
“We will ensure that all those responsible for endangering Nigerians with counterfeit and substandard products face the full wrath of the law,” the Director-General said, adding that NAFDAC would continue to work with security agencies and stakeholders to combat the problem of counterfeit goods.
The destruction exercise included a wide range of dangerous and unapproved goods that had been seized by NAFDAC officials.
These included a variety of psychoactive substances, antibiotics, antihypertensives, antimalarial drugs, and herbal remedies that had been found to be unsafe or improperly labeled.
Cosmetic products, which are often unregistered or contain harmful chemicals, were also destroyed.
A significant portion of the destroyed goods included food products such as cookies, vegetable oil, non alcoholic beverages, and other food items that lacked proper labeling, including foreign language only labels.
According to Prof. Adeyeye, these products were deemed non compliant with Nigerian regulations, which require that all labels be written in English to ensure that consumers can fully understand what they are purchasing.
Further, NAFDAC disposed of expired or unwholesome products, including those voluntarily submitted by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN).
Prof. Adeyeye emphasized that NAFDAC has significantly ramped up its Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) and enforcement activities.
These measures, she said, are crucial in identifying and removing substandard and counterfeit products from the market before they can harm consumers.
She also outlined the agency’s strategy of engaging political, traditional, and religious leaders, as well as the media and other stakeholders, to raise awareness about the dangers of counterfeit goods and to garner public support for the agency’s initiatives.
“Our fight against counterfeit products is a collective one,” she noted, adding, “We need everyone on board, from citizens to institutions, to help us tackle this growing problem and protect the health of Nigerians.”
NAFDAC’s anti-counterfeit operations have received praise from key stakeholders in Nigeria. Mr. Gamagira Mohammed, the FCT Coordinator of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), commended the agency’s tireless efforts to rid the country of counterfeit goods and substandard medicines.
He reiterated SON’s commitment to working closely with NAFDAC to promote quality standards across Nigerian industries, stating, “We will continue to strengthen our collaboration with NAFDAC to ensure that Nigerians only have access to safe, reliable products.”
Similarly, Salary Orakwelu, Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Abuja branch, also expressed strong support for NAFDAC’s operations.
He emphasized that the ultimate goal of all food regulatory agencies, including NAFDAC, is to ensure that consumers are protected from dangerous and fraudulent products.
