In a bid to curb the menace of expired and counterfeit drugs, the Abia State Government has hinted at amending the state’s law to impose severe punishment and imprisonment on traders selling fake, expired, and unregistered medicines.
According to Alex Otti, who was represented by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ukoha Njoku, the government is determined to tackle the issue head-on. Otti warned traders to desist from complicity in the sale of expired medicines or face harsher punishments.
The move comes after the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) raided warehouses and markets in Aba, seizing expired and counterfeit drugs worth millions of naira. The agency also announced the reopening of shops that were not found culpable in the sale of illegal products.
Conditions for Reopening Sealed Shops
NAFDAC’s Zonal Director, Mr. Martins Iluyomade, stated that some shops sealed by the agency would not be reopened until the owners were found. He added that traders whose shops were sealed must meet certain conditions before they can be reopened.
Call for Collaboration
Mrs. Ngozi Nzenwata, Director of the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), Abia chapter, emphasized the need for the state government to assist medicine dealers in getting a Medicine Mart or a Wholesale Coordinating Centre. This, she said, would ensure proper regulation of sales of medicines in the state.
The Chairman of Aba South Local Government Council, Mr. Anyanwu Obialor, promised to collaborate with the Abia Government and NAFDAC to severely punish any trader found culpable.
Market Union Leaders’ Response
Market union leaders, including Mr. Mike Okoro and Moses Ibe, thanked NAFDAC and Otti for reopening some of the shops earlier sealed. They promised to help stop the counterfeiting and sales of illegal products while calling for consideration for the remaining shops not yet reopened.