By Paul Effiong, Abuja
House of Representatives Committee on Food and Drug Administration and Control has ordered the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, to submit details of the payment of fines collected from traders of fake and substandard drugs.
Acting Chairman of the committee, Uchenna Okonkwo issued the directive when the Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, appeared before his panel over allegations of extortion of traders at Onitsha Bridge Head Market.
The resolution followed a motion by the committee, even as it raised concern about the agency collecting N700,000 from thousands of traders in Lagos, Anambra and Kano States, where it carried out its operation.
During the hearing, the NAFADC boss was represented by the Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Shaba Mohammed, and the Director of South East Operations, Dr Lyon Martins.
According to him, though the committee appreciated the agency’s efforts to clear fake drugs from circulation, it nevertheless received several petitions from various stakeholders on the recent activities during the general investigative operation on open drugs outlets in Lagos, Anambra and Kano.
“These allegations include the shutting down of the biggest drug market in West Africa located in Anambra State over non-compliance with the imposition of the payment of N700,000 per shop; alleged increment from N500,000 to N700,000 per shop and the alleged payment of N2 million as administrative charges for improper storage and handling of products in Idumota, Lagos,” Okonkwo said.
He explained that there is the need to inform Nigerians on the funds that have been collected during this exercise carried out in collaboration with the National Security Adviser, NSA.
“We would move a motion that the statement of accounts be provided to the committee although you mentioned that it is still ongoing. We will give you the opportunity to provide an interim statement of account which started from the date of the investigation till June 30.
“This will give you about a week or so from now to provide the statement of account to the committee which states the funds that were paid, accounts that the fund was paid into and whatever it is that had been accrued till date,” he said.
Okonkwo also said it is imperative to make sure that the Coordinated Wholesale Centres, CWC, become a number one priority for NAFDAC and the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria in coordination with state governments and the traders involved.
He urged that CWCs be built to modern standards in order to have a safe trading and storage environment for drugs, pharmaceuticals and others within Nigeria.
The NAFDAC boss said out of the N700,000 that they are collecting from the traders, N500,000 is for poor storage practice and N200,000 for the unregistered products which were found on them.
