By| Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) have pledged to deepen inter-agency collaboration in the fight against counterfeit, substandard, falsified and unwholesome regulated products in Nigeria.
The commitment was made when the Chief Commissioner of the PCC, Hon. Bashir Abubakar, led a delegation of the Commission on a courtesy visit to the NAFDAC Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.
Receiving the delegation, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, congratulated Abubakar on his recognition with the NAFDAC Integrity Award in 2018 for providing critical intelligence that contributed to the interception of 41 containers of tramadol at a Nigerian port.
Adeyeye said the incident underscored the importance of intelligence sharing and inter-agency cooperation in protecting public health and strengthening regulatory enforcement.
She said NAFDAC had established strategic partnerships with institutions including the Nigeria Customs Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) and the Nigeria Police Force.
According to her, the collaborations have been critical to efforts to prevent the importation, distribution and circulation of counterfeit medicines, unwholesome food products and other substandard regulated products.
The NAFDAC boss reiterated the Agency’s commitment to ensuring that regulated products in circulation are safe, wholesome, efficacious, of consistent quality and compliant with established regulatory standards.
“NAFDAC is a complex agency that deals with the public 24/7. There is hardly anybody who does not consume one or more NAFDAC-regulated products everyday,” she said.
Adeyeye stressed that regulatory compliance remained central to NAFDAC’s mandate because of the direct impact of regulated products on the lives and wellbeing of Nigerians.
“If there is no compliance in NAFDAC, a child may die, a pregnant woman may die, and a man or a woman living with hypertension may die.
Our job in NAFDAC is about life and death. That is why we have international guidelines and standards,” she said.
Speaking on the Agency’s progress under the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Benchmarking framework, Adeyeye recalled that NAFDAC had addressed significant regulatory gaps before attaining WHO Maturity Level 3.
“In 2018, NAFDAC had 200 indicators and 800 recommendations to close or satisfy before we could get to Maturity Level 3 during the WHO benchmarking. We closed the gaps, and we were given Maturity Level 3. Today, we are working towards Maturity Level 4,” she said.
She explained that attaining higher levels of regulatory maturity would further strengthen the international acceptability of products manufactured and approved by NAFDAC.
The Director-General also noted that NAFDAC’s mandate extends beyond public health protection, saying effective regulation contributes to economic development by supporting local pharmaceutical and manufacturing capacity, facilitating international trade and creating employment opportunities.
“NAFDAC is focused. We are not there yet, but we are compliant. The Agency is not only doing regulation to safeguard public health; we are also doing regulation for the survival of our country,” Adeyeye said.
In his remarks, PCC Chief Commissioner, Hon. Bashir Abubakar, said the delegation visited NAFDAC primarily to commend the Agency for its efforts in tackling counterfeit medicines and unwholesome products.
“We came here primarily to commend you and commend your efforts and passion in tackling the menace of fake drugs and unwholesome products in Nigeria,” he said.
Abubakar explained that the PCC, as Nigeria’s Ombudsman institution, receives complaints from members of the public and stakeholders across different sectors, both within and outside the country.
He said complaints within the Commission’s mandate are handled appropriately, while those outside its jurisdiction are referred to relevant authorities, with follow-up actions taken to ensure feedback is obtained.
The Chief Commissioner also commended Adeyeye for her public enlightenment and media engagement initiatives, stressing the importance of sustained communication in improving citizens’ understanding of NAFDAC’s regulatory mandate.
He urged the Agency to continue building a regulatory system that commands respect and deters violations.
“By building a system, those who follow due process and have integrity will respect you, while people on the other side will fear you,” Abubakar said.
He further called for an expansion of NAFDAC’s inter-agency collaboration framework to include the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
According to him, stronger collaboration among the institutions would improve intelligence gathering, monitoring and enforcement across the supply chain and promote a more coordinated approach to combating counterfeiting and the circulation of substandard and unwholesome products.
The visit reaffirmed the shared commitment of NAFDAC and the PCC to strengthening institutional collaboration, promoting regulatory compliance and protecting the health and wellbeing of Nigerians.
