Activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has called on President Bola Tinubu to remove the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the heads of other regulatory agencies, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), over the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard drugs and consumer products in the country.
Adeyanju also urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on the proliferation of fake and substandard drugs and other products, warning that Nigerians were being exposed to dangerous products daily due to what he described as regulatory failure.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Adeyanju said Nigerians were being exposed to dangerous products, including fake medicines and unsafe consumer goods, alleging that there were reports of drugs being sold wholesale in the open under the hot sun.”
The alarming prevalence of counterfeit and substandard drugs and other consumer products in Nigeria points to a complete collapse of regulation in critical sectors.
“Nigerians are being exposed to dangerous products daily, from fake and substandard medicines to unsafe consumer goods, with reports of drugs being sold wholesale in the open under the hot sun.
No responsible government should expose its citizens to such risks and expect mortality rates not to rise.” he said.
Adeyanju alleged that NAFDAC appeared incapable of effectively curbing the proliferation of fake and substandard products, adding that similar concerns extended to SON and other regulatory agencies responsible for protecting Nigerians.
He therefore, urged the President to act decisively by removing the agency heads and appointing competent leadership capable of restoring effective regulation and enforcement.”
The President must be alive to his responsibility and act decisively by removing the Director-General of NAFDAC and the heads of other failed regulatory agencies, including SON, and appointing competent leadership capable of restoring effective regulation and enforcement.”
The Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency on the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard drugs and products and undertake a comprehensive review of the country’s regulatory system.
Nigerians cannot continue to pay with their lives for regulatory failure.” He said
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