By George Ozalla
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) are to deepen cooperation in the fight against counterfeit, substandard, falsified and unwholesome regulated products in Nigeria.
The Chief Commissioner of the PCC, Hon. Bashir Abubakar, stated this during a courtesy visit by a delegation of the Commission to the NAFDAC Corporate Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
Receiving the delegation, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, congratulated Abubakar on his NAFDAC Integrity Award in 2018, which he received after providing intelligence that helped in the interception of 41 containers of tramadol at a Nigerian port.
Adeyeye said the incident showed the value of intelligence sharing and cooperation among government agencies in tackling threats to public health.
She said NAFDAC had built working relationships with the Nigeria Customs Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) and the Nigeria Police Force.
According to her, the partnerships have helped the agency in its efforts to stop the importation, distribution and sale of fake medicines, unwholesome food products and other products that fail regulatory requirements.
The NAFDAC boss said compliance with regulatory standards was important because of the possible consequences of unsafe products on Nigerians.
“NAFDAC is a complex agency that deals with the public 24/7. There is hardly anybody who does not consume one or more NAFDAC-regulated products everyday,” she said.
She recalled that NAFDAC had to address 200 indicators and 800 recommendations before it attained Maturity Level 3 under the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Benchmarking framework.
“In 2018, NAFDAC had 200 indicators and 800 recommendations to close or satisfy before we could get to Maturity Level 3 during the WHO benchmarking. We closed the gaps, and we were given Maturity Level 3. Today, we are working towards Maturity Level 4,” Adeyeye said.
She said progress towards higher regulatory maturity would improve the international acceptance of products manufactured and approved by NAFDAC.
Adeyeye also said the agency’s work had implications for the economy, pointing to its role in supporting local pharmaceutical and manufacturing capacity, international trade and employment.
“NAFDAC is focused. We are not there yet, but we are compliant. The Agency is not only doing regulation to safeguard public health; we are also doing regulation for the survival of our country,” she said.
Abubakar said the PCC delegation came to commend NAFDAC and the Director-General for the agency’s efforts against fake drugs and unwholesome products.
“We came here primarily to commend you and commend your efforts and passion in tackling the menace of fake drugs and unwholesome products in Nigeria,” he said.
He explained that the PCC receives complaints from members of the public and stakeholders in different sectors, both within and outside Nigeria.
He said complaints within the Commission’s mandate were handled by the PCC, while those outside its jurisdiction were referred to the appropriate authorities, with the Commission following up to obtain feedback.
Abubakar also praised Adeyeye’s public enlightenment and media engagement efforts, saying regular communication was needed to help Nigerians understand NAFDAC’s responsibilities.
He urged NAFDAC to maintain a regulatory system that would command respect and discourage violations.
“By building a system, those who follow due process and have integrity will respect you, while people on the other side will fear you,” he said.
The Chief Commissioner called for more agencies to be brought into NAFDAC’s collaboration framework, naming the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
He said cooperation with the agencies would assist intelligence gathering, monitoring and enforcement along the supply chain and help check the movement of counterfeit, substandard and unwholesome products.
