FCCPC, NAFDAC sign MoU to strengthen coordination against unsafe products, harmful market practices

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen coordination against unsafe products and harmful market practices in Nigeria.

Speaking in Abuja during the signing ceremony, the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello, said the event marked a deliberate step towards strengthening collaboration in the service of Nigerian consumers, particularly in areas where product safety and consumer protection overlap and require coordinated action.

“The mandates of the FCCPC and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) are clearly set out in law, although their functions increasingly overlap in practice.

“FCCPC focuses on protecting consumers from unfair, deceptive, or exploitative market behaviour. It also promotes competition, investigates complaints, and enforces remedies where consumer welfare has been undermined.

“NAFDAC’s responsibilities are more product-specific. It regulates the manufacture, importation, distribution, advertisement, and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, and packaged water. Its central concern is safety and quality, ensuring that regulated products meet required standards both before and after they enter the market.”

He explained that in reality, the work of both agencies often converges. “Issues such as misleading product claims, substandard goods, unsafe pharmaceuticals, and deceptive advertising raise questions that fall within both product safety and consumer protection.

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“For instance, a harmful product that reaches the market is not only a public health concern under NAFDAC’s remit, but also a consumer protection issue for FCCPC. The same applies to false advertising of regulated products, which typically requires input from both bodies.

“Given this overlap, a formal Memorandum of Understanding provides a practical basis for cooperation. The MoU being executed today therefore establishes a clearer and more workable framework for collaboration between the two institutions.

“It outlines how information will be shared, ensuring that both organisations have timely access to data needed for investigations, policy development, and enforcement.

“It also addresses how complaints should be handled. Rather than leaving consumers to decide which agency to approach, the process allows complaints to be received and reviewed in one place, then directed through clearly defined channels,” he stated.

On her part, the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojosola Adeyeye, commended the leadership of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, describing its Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, as responsive and committed to protecting consumers.

She said the engagements with the FCCPC leadership had shown a level of urgency that reflected the seriousness required in consumer protection, noting that, on two occasions when she raised complaints with Bello, he responded almost immediately and the affected business took corrective action.

“That is the way it is supposed to be,” the DG stated, adding that Nigerians should receive the same level of protection available to consumers in other parts of the world.

Adeyeye reiterated that the MoU would strengthen collaboration between both agencies in safeguarding consumers and ensuring the safety, quality and efficacy of regulated products. Although NAFDAC’s mandate focuses on products, she stressed that the ultimate concern remains the people who use them.

“It is people that use those products, and that is where the consumer comes in,” she said. “Consumers have the right to complain so that NAFDAC’s work can be effective,” she stated.