The South-East Caucus in the House of Representatives has urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to reopen the Onitsha bridgehead market in Anambra State.
Leader of the caucus, Rep. Igariwey Enwo (APC-Ebonyi), speaking at a news conference held at the National Assembly Complex on Tuesday – yesterday, February 25 – in Abuja said while the caucus unequivocally condemned the nefarious activities of unscrupulous traders in the market, it was also wary of what seems to a collective punishment for even genuine business owners selling wholesome products.
NAFDAC recently sealed over 4,000 shops in Onitsha, 3,027 in Lagos and 4,000 in Aba in a nationwide crackdown on sellers of unwholesome consumables.
Lamenting the activities of some businessmen and women who engage in production and distribution of fake and adulterated medicines and drinks, the lawmaker said the activities of such businessmen and women do not only negatively affect public health, but also directly or indirectly lead to loss of lives.
He described those involved in such activities as ‘death merchants and economic saboteurs’, who hide their activities away from government scrutiny and taxation, commending NAFDAC, on behalf of the caucus, for its intervention in halting the activities of the ‘merchants of death all over the country’.
He, however, urged the agency not to punish the innocent and genuine traders as well as those in need of medicines, alongside the criminal elements.
According to him, sealing of the entire market has done huge collateral damage on the entire country, particularly on medicine users in the South-East and South-South zones.
“While we are mindful of NAFDAC’s statutory role in curbing and stamping out fake drugs in the country, we urge it to quickly arrest and prosecute those responsible for the production and distribution of these fake drugs.
“However, the wholesome and indefinite sealing of a market that caters for over 90 per cent of the medication needs of the South-East and South-South regions may not be the best approach.
“This is more so when it is considered that many of the other traders in the same market are actually genuine business men and women.
“This is to avoid a situation of visiting collective punishment on all the traders in Onitsha bridgehead market which is currently in a state of lockdown, considering the wider collateral effect of the lockdown on the health needs of the larger population,” he said.
Enwo urged NAFDAC to quickly resolve the situation by prosecuting the offenders and sanitising the entire medical ecosystem across the country.
He also called on Nigeria Customs Service to stand up to its responsibilities of ensuring that the land, sea and air borders are better protected to nip in the bud the influx of fake and adulterated drugs into the country.
