NGO urges strengthening of NAFDAC to tackle fake drugs

The Southern Nigeria People’s Mandate (SNPM), an NGO, has urged the Federal Government to strengthen the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), with more personnel, logistics, and technology.

In a statement issued in Enugu, the group called for the agency to stay ahead of illicit drug producers and traffickers.

The statement followed hours of deliberations by SNPM members, who expressed concern over the rising threat posed by “Merchants of death.”

The statement, signed by the National President of SNPM, Chief Augustine Chukwudum, and Secretary General, Mr Segun Diya, also urged the government to expand or establish more modern laboratories for real-time examination of drug and beverage authenticity.

According to the group, “Some locally produced drugs and beverages did not meet acceptable health standards.”

The group called on President Bola Tinubu to set up an inquiry panel to investigate security personnel who might have allowed fake and substandard drugs to enter Nigerian markets.

It also cautioned the government against blanket closures of markets, stressing the economic impact on more than two million people who depended on them daily.

SNPM also urged the government to continue its investigation into fake drug operations, ensuring that those responsible, including their collaborators, were held accountable without exception.