The Abia State Government has hinted on amending the state’s law on expired drugs, to allow for severe punishment and imprisonment of traders selling fake, expired, unregistered medicines and other products.
Alex Otti, gave the hint on Thursday in Aba, at a meeting with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and representatives of Ariaria, Eziukwu and Tenant Road markets.
The meeting also had in attendance, Chairman, Aba South Local Government Council, Mr Anyanwu Obialor and the Director, Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, Abia chapter, Mrs Ngozi Nzenwata.
Otti, represented by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Ukoha Njoku, warned the traders to desist from complicity in the evils perpetrated by expired medicine dealers and counterfeiters, or face harsher punishments.
According to him, as we pursue these killers who poison our people with expired medicines from the markets now, they will likely move into the suburbs of Aba to continue their wicked acts.
“To save yourselves, when you see something, say something, or these people, when found, will cause you to have your houses sealed while you go elsewhere to live for months awaiting conclusion of investigations”, Otti said.
Earlier, the Zonal Director, NAFDAC, Mr Martins Iluyomade, said that the meeting was to announce the reopening of shops that were not found culpable in sales of illegal products or counterfeiting products, which were sealed.
He however said that some of the shops sealed by the agency in the markets would not be reopened until the owners were found.
According to him, this is to inform traders who are not medicine dealers or counterfeiters, but had their shops sealed, of the decision of the agency to reopen their shops shut in the past three weeks or more.
”There are conditions however, which must be met by the traders whose shops were sealed before they can be reopened, and as soon as you meet those conditions, your shops will be reopened.”
The NAFDAC zonal director regretted that the training and lifeline of free NAFDAC registration offered counterfeiters at the Eziukwu market to transform their activities into legal ones were not accepted by the traders.
Meanwhile, Mrs Ngozi Nzenwata, Director, PCN, Abia chapter, stressed the need for the state government to assist medicine dealers get a Medicine Mart or a Wholesale Coordinating Centre to ensure proper regulation of sales of medicines in the state.
In the same vein, the Chairman, Aba South LGA, Mr Anyanwu Obialor decried people calling themselves traders and engaging in the sale of consumables that could cause death.
He promised to collaborate with the Abia Government and NAFDAC to severely punish any trader found culpable.
Obialor disclosed that henceforth the council would revoke any shop found counterfeiting or selling expired products in the markets.
The market union leaders, Mr Mike Okoro and Moses Ibe, for Eziukwu market, James Nwogu for Ekumi /Ariaria market and Chimezie Ugwu for Tenant Road markets thanked NAFDAC and Otti for reopening some of the shops earlier sealed
They promised to help stop the counterfeiting and sales of illegal products while calling for consideration for the remaining shops not yet reopened.
