By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

The National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) this Thursday, March 6, 2025, announced the reopening of the Onitsha Drug Market, and other adjoining markets, which were closed one month ago.

This was announced by the Agency?s South East Zonal Director, Mr Martins Iluyomade, after a meeting between officials of the agency, officials of the Anambra State Government and leaders of market unions.

According to him, business will officially resume in the markets tomorrow (Friday).

News Express reports that other markets, such as Plumbing Timber Market, Science Laboratory Materials Market, Surgical Materials Market, among others, were affected early last month when NAFDAC closed down the drug market in its current fight against sale of adulterated drugs.

Iluyomade said: ?What is happening here goes beyond only Ogbogwu (drug) market, it extends to other markets around this area, and that was why we took the steps we did by closing down everywhere.

"We had been here last year for an operation, but our men were beaten and even an officer of the federal Republic was stripped naked for doing his legitimate duty. We had to lock up everywhere because if we did not, there will be a collateral damage. This is a major drug market, and if something goes wrong here, drug supplies all over the country will be contaminated.

?We know that since FG was determined about sanitizing this market, if there was any attack on us, our security men would have reacted and the damage would have been high. We thanks Governor Soludo for his visit. When he heard what we did here, he called to express interest about the welfare of his people, and when we explained to him, he backed to sanitize the market. He later visited us and reiterated the same support as far as what we are doing is right.

"People were already bringing ethnic coloration into it, but I thank the governor for not listening to them. In fact, the governor said there was need for us to save us from ourselves because if you use fake drugs, it will kill you without asking your ethnicity.?

While noting that the DG of NAFDAC took the assignment as if her life depended on it, Iluyomade recalled her constant calls to ascertain the state of operations.

The NAFDAC Zonal Director further said that the Agency has committed a lot of resources into the operation and has made a commitment for fake drugs to be exterminated in Nigeria.

On the findings of NAFDAC in the market, Iluyomade said: ?It is saddening to see that we have people amongst us whose only way of making money is by destabilizing the country and killing people.

?We have confiscated over 50 trailers of fake and substandard drugs. We have many still in warehouse in town and we are coming after them. The volume of narcotics we saw here are enough to destabilize any nation. There is a link between the circulation of narcotics and insecurity. Check any country that there is insecurity and breakdown of law and order, you will see that narcotics is in high supply.

?This is a sad story the number of narcotics we have found here. The people dealing in it know the effect, but they are doing it because people say the sale of narcotics is more lucrative than cocaine.

?We have also seen people who deliberately go and bring substandard and fake drugs. People import tablets in nylon bags with no label and they will bring it here and put it in packs and put label on them for sale. We saw a lot of it. We saw medicine that had been banned as far back as 2007, but people are stocking it.

?Many of them were banned because they cause cancer, and new replacement produced, but people still stock them. That is wickedness. Another category is unregistered drugs. The volume of those medicines are usually small on the counter, but has large cache of them in warehouses outside the market.?

Iluyomade regretted that even some genuine drugs are stored in manner that they lose their efficacy and even become harmful, far before their expiration date.

"All the packing stores are packed to the brim, locked with the biggest padlocks and left there without ventilation. We saw a drug for women in labour packed at plumbing materials market. The warehouse was full and hot, but the drug on its pack says store between 2-8 degree centigrade, but someone packed it in oven. So when people say what of some of us selling good medicine, we just laugh at them. Which good medicine are you selling?

?We must take our healthcare delivery seriously and that is what NAFDAC is doing. As an agency we are not out to make life difficult for you people, but we?re working with the mandate given to us as an agency.

?We have pasted papers on some shops and those who find such must know that they have invitation and they must come to our office to see us. I want to tell you that markets will be opened from tomorrow. We have met your union people and the leaders must ensure they come to us when they find something untoward,? Iluyomade stated

He warned that ?if anything like this happens again, NAFDAC will close this market. Again, and will never have a case where its officials will be attacked.?

Iluyomade added: ?It must not happen again, if it does, we will close the market.

?Even though the market will be reopened from Friday, about 4,000 shops will remain locked until their owners come to explain certain drugs found inside.?

Leaders of the market unions expressed happiness about the news to reopen the markets, while pledging to work with the agency to identify traders who insist on dealing in illegal drugs.

Chairman of plumbing materials market, Mr Chikodili Ejiofor, who expressed shock about the quantity of drugs found in his market said: ?I don?t deal in drug; my market is for plumbing materials and I was shocked at the number of drug found in my market. Tramadol, codeine and many other were all found in the market to my amazement.?

On his part, the Chairman of Ogbogwu Market, Mr Ndubuisi Chukwuleta, said: ?Before now, we were trying to check fake drug in our own capacity, but now that NAFDAC has come in, our duty is quite less. We will always report to you. We will tell neighbouring markets to put their ears on growing and ensure that they help us. This suffering our members are into, only a few people caused it for us, but thank God you are here now.?

Anambra government officials at the meeting, Special Adviser to the Governor on Pharmaceuticals, Dr Nnadozie Godwin, and the Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, both pledged the support of the state governor in cleansing the market of fake drugs.

The Commissioner for Health said: ?Sanitizing drug trade saves more lives than what hospitals save. The lives that NAFDAC has saved so far through this exercise is more than what hospitals save."

He thanked the traders for cooperating with them the day they came, saying that if it wasn?t so, ?the outcome may not have been what it is today.?

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