NAFDAC Reiterates Commitment on Improved Surveillance

• As Dangote donates six vehicles to the agency

Martins Ifijeh
As part of efforts to rid Nigeria of counterfeit and fake products and drugs, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has reiterated its commitment to improving monitoring and surveillance activities of the agency.

Stating this during the presentation of eight vehicles donated to the agency by Dangote Group recently, its Acting Director General, Mrs. Yetunde Oni saidto effectively continue to monitor the country of fake and substandard products, the agency was open to partnership from well-meaning Nigerians, organisations and institutions.

According to her, the donation by Dangote will go a long way in improving their activities. “Our activities require good vehicles, if you don’t have a vehicle, how do you begin to chase people that are already mobile and running away. Now, we can chase them,” the acting NAFDAC boss said.

“What this means is that as from today, these vehicles will be put into more effective operations of NAFDAC functions, especially our enforcement, inspection, and post marketing surveillance. We have six pilot vehicles; we are expectingtwo more, one additional Hilux from Bua and a 16-seater bus,” she added.

She called on well-meaning Nigerians to partner with NAFDAC through supports like this to make their work more efficient.

Asked if accepting donations from organisations the agency was supposed to regulate would not affect how they monitor such organisations, Oni said the agency was even more stringent on organisations close to them because they expect them to be of examples to others.

Speaking during the presentation of the vehicles to NAFDAC, Acting ManagingDirector, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, said the work of NAFDAC was very important to the country, hence their resolve to continuously support their work.