Reps South-East caucus seeks immediate reopening of Onitsha medicine market

The South-South Caucus in the 10th House of Representatives on Tuesday appealed to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to immediately reopen the Onitsha medicine market located at the Bridgehead, in Onitsha, Anambra State recently shut down by the Agency over alleged massive procurement and distribution of fake and counterfeit drugs.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja the Caucus led by Rt. Hon. Igariwey Iduma Enwo denounced the activities of dealers of fake drugs and called on the Agency to dish out the culprits and prosecute them accordingly.

According to the Caucus, “our attention has been drawn to the continued lock down of the Onitsha medicine market located at the Bridge head, in Onitsha, Anambra State.

“As a caucus, we unequivocally condemn the nefarious activities of unscrupulous traders and so-called businessmen and women, who peddle and engage in the business of production and distribution of fake, adulterated and unwholesome medications and drugs, which they pass on to the unsuspecting public.

“To say the very least, their activities not only imperil public health but have led directly or indirectly to loss of lives. To a lesser extent, these death merchants are also economic saboteurs since their clandestine activities are not open to government scrutiny and taxation.

“Caucus hereby commends NAFDAC for their intervention in halting the unconscionable activities of these merchants of death all over the country.

“However, while we are mindful of NAFDAC’s statutory role in curbing and stamping out fake drugs in the country, we urge them to quickly arrest and prosecute those responsible for the production and distribution of these fake drugs.

“The wholesale and indefinite sealing of a market that caters for over ninety percent of the medication needs of the South East and South-South regions, may not be the best approach, mores when it is considered that many of the other traders in the same market are genuine businessmen and women.

“Therefore, to avoid a situation of visiting collective punishment on all the traders of Onitsha Bridgehead, which is currently in a state of lockdown, and considering the wider collateral effect of the lockdown on the health needs of the larger population, we urge NAFDAC to quickly resolve the situation by prosecuting the offenders, sanitizing the entire medical ecosystem, whether in Onitsha bridge head market, or in Aba, Lagos or Kano.”

The Caucus called on Nigerian Customs Services to stand up to their responsibilities by ensuring that the land, sea and air borders were better protected, to nip in the bud the influx of fake and adulterated drugs into the country.

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