- Safiu Kehinde
Anambra State Governor,.Charles Soludo, has sensitized traders of Ogbo Ogwu and surrounding markets recently shutdown by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) over the discovery of counterfeit drugs in the area.
The governor pledged to collaborate with NAFDAC to eliminate fake, substandard, and adulterated drugs from the market.
He made the pledge while addressing the market traders on Saturday in Onitsha.
Soludo recalled that the market was also shut for four months in 2007, emphasising that such actions were crucial for collective safety.
“The enforcement is being carried out by NAFDAC. We are here to solve the problem,” he said.
The governor mentioned a meeting with the head of the plumbing market, who expressed shock at the discovery of counterfeit drugs in the area.
“He did not know that such illicit drugs could be found here.
“I’m not here as a politician, but to address the issue at hand—the high rate of fake drugs in the market.
“These drugs are so dangerous that taking malaria pills, for instance, can cause further health problems instead of curing malaria,” he warned.
Soludo, however, assured the traders that NAFDAC officials would sanitise the market swiftly and that the process would be completed in the shortest possible time.
In response, Chief Ejiofor Chikodi, Chairman of the Onitsha Building Materials Traders Association, committed to taking strict action against anyone found storing counterfeit drugs in their shops.
The Southeastern states have in the past months drawn NAFDAC’s attention with series of illicit drugs discoveries.
Fake drugs and products worth millions of Naira have been confiscated across popular markets in the region such as the Aba market, which has been labelled the epicenter of the criminal activity, Ariaria market, and Onitsha amongst others.