The Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, has said NAFDAC has destroyed fake drugs worth N3.2bn in the past two years.
Adeyeye spoke at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday.
She said, “The Agency raided two warehouses located within in a residential area in Igbo Amaeze Street, Awada Obosi, Onitsha, Anambra State, where substandard and falsified versions of popular brands of anti-malaria and antibiotics were stored.
“One hundred and nine cartons of assorted products including Lincocin Capsule, Augmentin, Artesunate, Panadol Extra, Cafcol 250mg Capsules, Busoopan, Laridox, Postinor 2 tablets, Coartem 20/120, Lofnac (Diclofenac Sodium) and Aldomet were seized. Investigation is ongoing to unravel the owners of the products.
“We also intercepted a truck conveying substandard and falsified medical products en route to Kano. The products are worth about N6m.
“The agency has destroyed substandard and falsified medical products worth more than N3.22bn (in two years). The Agency in conjunction with the Nigeria Customs Service commenced the destruction of 24 seized containers of substandard and falsified medical products, especially Tramadol.”
Adeyeye also called on the Federal Government to review the salaries of NAFDAC workers, saying most of them could not afford decent accommodation in Lagos.
She said a daughter of one of the workers of the agency was kidnapped by those who were hurt by NAFDAC’s regulatory activities but was later released by her abductors. She also called for improved funding of the agency to perform its functions and save lives.
The NAFDAC chief said the agency needed N1.53bn ($5m) to buy Truscan.
