– ”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.” – PCC Chief Commissioner L Hon. Bashir Abubakar
By Biola Lawal
Abuja (FLOWERBUDNEWS) The Chief Commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), Hon. Bashir Abubakar, has commended the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye for her dedication and sustained battle against counterfeiters and fake drug peddlers.
Hon. Bashir Abubakar gave the commendation when he led a delegation of the Commission on a courtesy visit to the NAFDAC Corporate Headquarters in Abuja, a statement by Adegboyega Osiyemi, NAFDAC Deputy Director, Public Relations Unit, disclosed
The PCC Chief Commissioner said that the delegation was at NAFDAC ”primarily to express appreciation to the Director-General and commend the Agency for its efforts in tackling the menace of 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,” the PCC Boss declared.
The Chief Commissioner also commended Prof. Adeyeye for her public enlightenment and media engagement initiatives, noting that sustained public communication was essential to strengthening citizens’ understanding of NAFDAC’s regulatory mandate.
He urged the NAFDAC Boss to continue building a regulatory system that command respect and deter 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,” He said.
Hon. Abubakar further advocated for expansion of NAFDAC’s inter-agency collaboration framework to include institutions such as the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
He noted that stronger collaboration among these institutions would enhance intelligence gathering, monitoring and enforcement across the supply chain and contribute to a more holistic approach to combating counterfeiting and the circulation of substandard and unwholesome products in Nigeria.
Hon. Abubakar explained that, as Nigeria’s Ombudsman office, the PCC receives complaints from members of the public and stakeholders across different sectors, both within and outside the country.
He said complaints that fall within the mandate of the Commission are handled appropriately, while those outside its jurisdiction are referred to the relevant authorities, with follow-up actions taken to ensure that feedback is obtained.
On her part, NAFDAC Director General reaffirmed her commitment to strengthening strategic partnerships with relevant government institutions in the fight against substandard, falsified and unwholesome regulated products in Nigeria.
Prof. Adeyeye, congratulated Hon. Abubakar on his earlier recognition with the NAFDAC Integrity Award in 2018, following his role in providing critical intelligence that contributed to the interception of 41 containers of tramadol at a Nigerian port.
The NAFDAC Director General noted that the incident demonstrated the importance of intelligence sharing and inter-agency collaboration in protecting public health and strengthening regulatory enforcement.
She highlighted some of the strategic partnerships NAFDAC has established with government institutions and relevant stakeholders, 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, among others.
According to her, these collaborations had remained critical to the Agency’s efforts to curb the importation, distribution and circulation of counterfeit medicines, unwholesome food products and other substandard regulated products.
The Director-General reiterated NAFDAC’s commitment to ensuring that regulated products circulating in Nigeria are safe, wholesome, efficacious, of consistent quality and compliant with established regulatory standards.
Prof. Adeyeye emphasized that regulatory compliance remain central to NAFDAC’s mandate because of the direct impact of regulated products on the lives and wellbeing of Nigerians.
“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 stated, adding that the Agency’s operations were anchored on compliance with national and international regulatory standards.
“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 stressed.
Speaking on NAFDAC’s progress under the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Benchmarking framework, the DG recalled that the Agency had to address significant regulatory gaps before attaining WHO Maturity Level 03.
Prof Adeyeye declared: “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.”
Prof. Adeyeye further explained that achieving higher levels of regulatory maturity would strengthen the international acceptability of products manufactured and approved NAFDAC.
She noted that NAFDAC’s regulatory mandate went beyond public health protection, stressing that effective regulation also 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,” She stated.
The visit underscored the shared commitment of NAFDAC and the Public Complaints Commission to strengthening institutional collaboration, promoting regulatory compliance and protecting the health and wellbeing of Nigerians. (FLOWERBUDNEWS)