The House of Representatives Committee on Food and Drug Administration and Control has instructed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to provide a full breakdown of all fines it has collected from traders found selling fake or substandard medicines in open markets nationwide.
The directive came at a committee hearing on Tuesday, convened to address allegations that NAFDAC officials extorted traders at Onitsha’s Bridge Head Market.
Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC’s Director General, was summoned to explain the agency’s conduct but appeared only through her representatives—Pharm. Shaba Mohammed, Director of Investigation and Enforcement, and Dr. Lyon Obi Martins, NAFDAC’s South-East Director.
Acting Committee Chairman Uchenna Harris Okonkwo voiced concern over reports that NAFDAC had charged as much as ₦700,000 from each of thousands of traders during enforcement operations in Lagos, Anambra and Kano states. He demanded that the agency submit comprehensive details of every fine imposed, including dates, locations, amounts and the legal basis for each sanction.
The committee has given NAFDAC a deadline to collate and deliver the requested documentation, warning that failure to comply will prompt further legislative action. NAFDAC’s response is now expected to shed light on the scale of its enforcement activities and to clarify whether proper procedures were followed in each case.
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