National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has raised concerns over the circulation of suspected counterfeit drugs, adulterated food and other potentially unsafe products across Nigeria.

This was as Chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics LTD/GTE, Dele Oye, said reforms by the Bola Tinubu-led administration over the past three years only improved the country’s macroeconomic stability and resilience, urging the government to turn the gains into lower food prices, productive jobs and improved living standards for Nigerians.

The Senate of the students’ body also expressed concern about the sale of such products in markets, by roadside vendors and through online platforms, calling for stronger regulatory measures to protect consumers.

In a statement yesterday, the President of the NANS Senate, Moses Ibeabuchi, said the development raised questions about the effectiveness of existing measures to regulate drugs, food and other consumable products.

NANS said recent reports of suspected counterfeit toothpaste, palm oil, artificially enhanced fruits, counterfeit soy sauce and olive oil, as well as suspected fake yoghurt products, underscored the need for increased monitoring and enforcement.

The association also raised concerns about the sale of drugs, supplements, cosmetics and food products through social media and e-commerce platforms, urging relevant authorities to strengthen verification and traceability mechanisms for online vendors.

The association referred to recent comments by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo concerning adulterated orange juice.

According to NANS, Osinbajo said his wife experienced unexplained headaches after consuming freshly squeezed orange juice, with subsequent tests reportedly indicating that the juice was not fit for human consumption.

Oye, in a statement entitled ‘The economy is stabilising. Now let the people feel it’, asserted that the administration deserved recognition for taking politically difficult decisions, including petrol subsidy removal, foreign exchange reforms, abandonment of monetary financing of fiscal deficits, rebuilding of external reserves and tighter monetary policy.

According to him, these measures have helped address distortions that weakened the foundations of the economy, stressing that macroeconomic stability is only the beginning of the work, and that the success of the reforms must ultimately be measured by their impact on ordinary citizens.

He cited Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves, which it said reached a 17-year high of $53.11 billion as of August 24, 2026, as evidence of stronger external buffers and referenced the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report that the economy grew by 4.43 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, from 3.89 per cent in the previous quarter, with both oil and non-oil sectors recording stronger growth.

Noting that the figures suggested that the economy was moving from holding steady to building momentum, he added that stronger reserves and rising Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would not automatically translate into improved welfare.

Oye also cited the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s June 2026 assessment, which estimated poverty at 63 per cent at the national poverty line and 27 million Nigerians facing food insecurity in autumn 2025, noting that the figures highlighted the gap between national economic performance and households’ daily experiences. (Guardian)