The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed fake, counterfeit, sub-standard and expired drugs worth N650 million in Kaduna.
The Director-General of the agency, Prof. Christiana Adeyeye said at the destruction site in Buruku, Kaduna State, that the products were substandard, falsely labelled medicines, unwholesome food products and cosmetics.
Others were counterfeited unsafe NAFDAC regulated products by the agency from manufacturers, importers and distributors. Represented by the North West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mr Gimba Dauda, she said the exercise was part of efforts to stop spurious NAFDAC regulated products from circulation in Nigeria.
“The products being destroyed today are made of substandard and falsely labelled medicines, unwholesome food products, cosmetics and other counterfeited products.
“Drug counterfeiting is an act of economic sabotage and also terrorism against public health,’’ the director-general said. Commending the Federal Government for banning the use of codeine syrup, Adeyeye said:
“The decision is to ensuring the reduction in the abuse of the substance. “We have continued to aggressively pursue the goal that only genuine medicines and wholesome foods of the right qualities are imported, exported, manufactured and distributed.
“We commend President Muhammadu Buhari for re-instating NAFDAC personnel to our ports of entry and borders.”
She noted that the relentless effort of the Federal Government was helping in the increased seizures of counterfeited and substandard NAFDAC regulated products smuggled through the land borders. She said that NAFDAC has deepened its collaboration with agencies of government and stakeholders to end the spread of fake and counterfeited drugs in Nigeria.
Part of the drugs, food, cosmetics and chemical destroyed included antibiotics, antimalarial, anti-hypertensive, anti-cancer, herbal remedies and controlled substances. Others were Mom’s tomato paste, non-alcoholic beverages, maize flour, Eva complexion soap, hair cream and fake insecticides.
