BY ONYEKACHUKWU IBEZIM – Disturbed by the alarming stockpile of fake, substandard, and adulterated drugs by some traders, the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo has pledged to collaborate with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to eliminate harmful practices from markets across the State.
He made the commitment in Onitsha while addressing traders of Ogbo Ogwu and surrounding markets recently shut down by NAFDAC over issues related to counterfeit and expired drugs.
Governor Soludo said such criminal and unhealthy practices among traders would not be tolerated as they constitute hazards to the people of the Southeast and Nigeria in general.
Recalling that the market was also shut for about four months in 2007 due to such bad behaviour and the severity of its potential harm on the populace, he said the government is constrained to take crucially tough measures for collective safety.
According to him; “The enforcement is being carried out by NAFDAC. We are here to solve the problem”.
Citing a meeting with the Head of the plumbing market, who expressed shock at the discovery of counterfeit drugs in the area, Governor said; “He did not know that such illicit drugs could be found here.
“I’m not here as a politician, but to address the issue at hand, the high rate of fake drugs in the market.”
He warned that; “These drugs are so dangerous that taking malaria pills, for instance, can cause further health problems instead of curing malaria”.
Also, he assured the traders that NAFDAC officials would sanitise the market swiftly and the process would be completed in the shortest possible time.
Responding to the Governor during the visit, Chairman of the Onitsha Building Materials Traders Association (OBAMTA), Chief Ejiofor Chikodi, said they are committed to strict action(s) and sanctions against those found warehousing counterfeit drugs in their shops.
