The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed over one hundred trucks of expired, fake, substandard, and unwholesome regulated products, estimated to be worth over a trillion naira, in separate exercises carried out in Onitsha, Anambra State, and Aba, Abia State.
Speaking ahead of the destruction exercise, which took place at the Anambra State Waste Management Authority (ASWAMA) dump site in Awka on Friday, NAFDAC Director General, Prof Moji Adeyeye, said the seized items were collected during a one-month sensitisation and enforcement campaign across various shops in the two major commercial hubs.
She noted that the destruction of the expired and counterfeit drugs was a vital measure to prevent their possible re-entry into the Nigerian market, reaffirming NAFDAC’s commitment to protecting public health by ensuring that only genuine medicines and quality food products are allowed into circulation within the country.
ALSO READ: Emergency rule: Sen Kingibe opposes use of voice vote by Senate
Prof Adeyeye, who described drug counterfeiting as an act of economic sabotage and a major threat to public health, emphasised the agency’s resolve to intensify its regulatory enforcement in order to curb the menace.
She also expressed appreciation to security agencies and the media and particularly commended the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo, and the Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, for their sustained support in the agency’s ongoing campaign against fake and substandard drugs.
Prof Adeyeye was represented at the burning exercise by the Director of NAFDAC South East Zone, Dr Martins Iluyomade.
ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then