The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has declared that it will not bow to pressure in its bid to rid the country of banned, counterfeit, unregistered, and harmful drugs.
NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made this declaration at a news conference in Lagos while reacting to claims that the agency forced some traders to pay N700,000 for a service they were unaware of.
Adeyeye said NAFDAC’s recent enforcement operation in Idumota, Aba, and Onitsha open drug market, where harmful and banned drugs worth over one trillion naira were evacuated, was a measure taken by NAFDAC to safeguard the nation’s health.
According to her, the charges imposed on traders are investigative charges, which were reduced from N5 million to N200,000 for sales of unregistered drugs and N2 million to N500,000 for violation of storage after rigorous consultation.
“The agency will not cave in to pressure, and there will not be unconstitutional opening of any shops that are yet to comply with NAFDAC directives,” Adeyeye said.
“We will not close our eyes to these evil acts that have killed thousands of innocent children and women who died due to fake and substandard medicines,” she added.
Adeyeye urged Nigerians not to politicize the issue, stating that those spreading propaganda against the agency are rogue traders who brought banned narcotics to the country and are not ready to abide by the rules of the land.