The Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has said there is no going back on decision that traders whose shops were shut by the agency for stocking banned, counterfeit, unregistered and harmful drugs during its enforcement exercises across the country must pay âŚ700,000 fine to have them reopened.
According to the NAFDAC boss, over 2500 traders with 3500 shops have resumed their normal activity in Ogbogwu market in Onitsha after paying the charges and drugs that contravene regulations were removed from the shops.
Recall that some stakeholders, including Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of Labour Party had criticised NAFDAC over the N700,000 fee on traders whose shops were recently closed for staking fae drugs in Onitsha.
Also, the Labour Party caucus of the House of Representatives had criticized NAFDAC for imposing the N700, 000 fee on traders while accusing the agency of extortion.
The lawmakers said the traders are being made to pay for what they are unaware of.
Also, popular social media influencer, VeryDarkMan (VDM) had led some of the affected traders in protest against the N700,000 fee.
However, Adeyeye, at a news conference in Lagos on Friday dismissed that claims that the agency is forcing traders to pay âŚ700,000 for a service they were unaware of.
While vowing that the agency will not cave in to any pressure in its bid to rid the country of banned, counterfeit, unregistered and harmful drugs, Adeyeye said the charges imposed on the traders are investigative charges which were reduced from N5 million to N200,000 for sales of unregistered drugs and N2million to N500,000 for violation of storage after rigorous consultation.
She said NAFDAC recent enforcement operation in Idumota, Aba and Onitsha open drug market where harmful and banned drugs worth over one trillion Naira were evacuated was a measure taken by the agency to safeguard the health of the nation.
She said that NAFDACâs decision to seal shops and imposed investigative charges followed due process.
âThe charges are Federal government gazetted charges and payments.
âThe agency will not cave in to pressure and there will not be unconstitutional opening of any shops that are yet to comply with NAFDAC directives.
âWe will not close our eyes to these evil acts that have killed thousands of innocent children and women that died due to fake and substandard medicines,â she said.
Adeyeye said those spreading propaganda against the agency are done traders who brought banned narcotics to the country and are not ready to abide by the rules of the land.
She urged Nigerians not to politicise the issue, adding that the agency will continue to take measures that would be in the best interest of the nation.
Adeyeye assured Nigerians that the agency will continue to work within the purview of it mandate to safeguard the nationâs health.
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