The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has taken delivery of 15 containers of substandard and falsified pharmaceutical products and tomato paste imported through Onne Port in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.
NAFDAC, in a press statement on Sunday, signed by its Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, noted that the fake products are “estimated to have the street value of N20.5bn.”
The agency said the consignment, which comprised 11 containers of various unregistered, banned pharmaceutical products, as well as four containers of unwholesome tomato paste, was handed over at Onne Port, Port-Harcourt, on Saturday to the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, by the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, as part of the institutional collaborative synergy between the two organisations.
“Among the various substandard regulated products seized were 1.3 million bottles of codeine syrup (a highly controlled prescription-only medicine), 12.6 million tablets of Tramadol, a highly addictive prescription-only drug product used for the management of post-operative pain in adults, as well as 9.3 million tablets of substandard and falsified (branded) Diclofenac tablets (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory prescription drug used for the management of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis).
“Other regulated products seized include 280 packages of Hyergra tablets (a falsified brand of Sildenafil Citrate for the management of erectile dysfunction in men), as well as four containers of unregistered and substandard tomato paste.”
According to the statement, Prof Adeyeye commended the Comptroller-General of Customs and his team for joining the fight against the importation of illicit, substandard, and unwholesome products.
Adeyeye stated, “This is to warn unscrupulous merchants both at home and abroad that, under our watch, substandard and fake food and drug products will not be allowed access to our people.
“Recent threats of death, kidnapping of our staff, and other attempts to dampen our zeal will continue to fail because God, as well as our people, are on our side.”
She called on all well-meaning Nigerians to partner with the agency by reporting all suspected cases of manufacture, importation, distribution, or sale of fake and substandard products through NAFDAC’s offices nationwide or through the agency’s various social media channels.
According to her, “The dangers of consumption of unwholesome products include acute food poisoning and gastrointestinal illness from adulterants in expired food products; nutritional deficiencies and undermined food value; chronic organ damage from toxic metabolites and heavy metals in expired food; increased cancer risk from expired colorants, dyes, and preservatives; allergic and respiratory reactions from hidden allergens or artificial additives; as well as food addiction and cognitive disruption from expired ultra-processed foods engineered to be hyper-palatable, high in sugar, fat, salt, etc.”
Emphasising the need for strong institutional cooperation, she promised to continue to evolve new strategies towards partnering with well-meaning organisations and individuals to build a safer and healthier nation, noting that safeguarding the health of the nation is a collective responsibility which NAFDAC cannot do alone.
