Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said there is no political interference in its recent crackdown on illegal pharmaceuticals.
Gatekeepers News reports that Adeyeye during a visit to Lagos on Saturday, said the agency is only performing its duty of safeguarding the health of Nigerians.
This followed NAFDAC’s operation at Idumota Open Drug Market in Lagos, where large consignments of illicit pharmaceuticals, including Cocodamol and falsified GSK
Ampiclox was seized.
Operatives of the agency also discovered banned, unregistered, and expired products, some of which were controlled substances.
Additionally, NAFDAC uncovered prohibited drugs hidden inside plumbing materials shops at Onitsha Bridgehead Drug Market in Anambra state over the weekend.
Speaking to journalists after inspecting the confiscated drugs, Adeyeye said the agency was acting strictly within its mandate.
She said, “We’re protecting lives. What NAFDAC is doing is exactly what it is mandated to do. There is no politics in this operation.”
The DG noted that many traders in these markets operate without registration from the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN).
Adeyeye added that more than 1,000 NAFDAC personnel are currently working to remove counterfeit, expired, and unregistered medicines from circulation.
