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NAFDAC intercepts over 200 containers of counterfeit drugs via CRIA

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC

*Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control urges importers to desist from entrusting the entire process of clearance of consignments to their agents

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Following the revitalisation of the Clean Report of Inspection and Analysis (CRIA) scheme set up to establish the quality and safety of regulated products before shipping to Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclosed it intercepted at least 200 containers of fake and substandard pharmaceuticals intended to be cleared at the ports and borders in less than a year.

The regulatory agency noted the result stemmed from the revitalisation of the CRIA scheme, report said.

Sayo Akintola, Resident Media Consultant to NAFDAC, in a statement said Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, disclosed this at a virtual sensitisation workshop for stakeholders in the Export and Import Trade activities at the nation’s ports, in Abuja, FCT.

The participants in the event include the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Mine, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and multinational conglomerates among others.

According to NAFDAC, the CRIA scheme was set up to establish the quality and safety of regulated products before they are shipped from China and India to Nigeria.

The Director-General the scheme also prevented the export of over 40 pharmaceutical and food products that failed laboratory analysis into the West African country.

These products could have been consumed by Nigerians with adverse health implications but were intercepted with collaborative efforts of the Nigeria Customs Service, other security and sister agencies.

However, Adeyeye has warned clearing agents and importers to desist from the falsification of NAFDAC documents, as such fraudulent acts will attract stringent legal actions.

The Director-General of NAFDAC stated: “We shall take all legal means as an agency set up by the Law of Nigeria to prosecute any erring stakeholder.”

She urged importers to desist from entrusting the entire process of clearance of their consignments to the agents.

Whenever the agents run into trouble with the regulatory authorities, Adeyeye noted, they would always want to cut corners, leaving the importer in the lurch at the end of a botched transaction, sequel to failure to meet NAFDAC’s requirements.

She urged all importers and clearing agents to ensure that they complete every clearing transaction with NAFDAC up to the point of generation of the agency’s electronic Release Notices.

Adeyeye reiterated her commitment to the modernisation of NAFDAC’s processes and institutionalisation of international best practices in the way activities are conducted in the regulatory agency.

She noted that “I am happy to state that from wherever in the world, you can process the clearance of your products with NAFDAC without visiting any formation of NAFDAC or Port offices.”

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