NAFDAC Destroys Products Worth Over N105m In Nasarawa, Benue States

The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Nasarawa and Benue states have jointly destroyed expired drugs, food, cosmetics, and expired drinks worth N105 million.

Mrs Yetunde Oni, the Acting Director-General of NAFDAC, made this known today at the venue of the joint exercise in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.

Oni, represented by Alhaji Abubakar Jimoh, the NAFDAC Director,Special Duties, said the periodic destruction exercise was one of NAFDAC’s strategies to prevent the circulation of fake, counterfeit medicines and unwholesome products in the country.

She said that some of the products earmarked for destruction were voluntarily handed over to NAFDAC by various governmental and non-governmental organisations while others were mopped up from open market via enforcement activities and NAFDAC surveillance systems.

She, however, expressed regret that in spite of the agency’s laudable efforts such as destroying fake products worth N30 billion in the last three years, counterfeiters had continued to adopt different strategies to evade arrest and enjoy proceeds of their corrupt practices.

The coordinator said that the total amount of products destroyed was worth over N105 million with 80 per cent of the products from Benue, because the agency that had destroyed products worth N24 million in Nasarawa six months earlier.

He added that to efficiently comb the nooks and cranny of Nasarawa State of illegal and unwholesome NAFDAC products, the agency had set up an outpost office in Karu local government area of the state, to regulate growing commercial activities in the area.