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In her relentless fight against the menace of drug abuse and counterfeit regulated products, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has impounded more than 40 container loads of drug substances and other regulated products from January to date.
The controlled drugs which are mostly Tramadol of various strength were confiscated at different sea ports across the country in addition to other unregistered products such as Viagra, Colds time, Diclofenac among others.
Director General NAFDAC, Prof Moji Adeyeye who disclosed this in kebbi state while addressing an awareness programme on drug abuse organized by the wife of Kebbi state Governor, Dr. Zainab Bagudu said drug abuse has become a growing epidemic in the country resulting to devastating consequences such terrorism, armed robbery, kidnapping and even death.
Speaking on the theme: “The Role NAFDAC Plays To Help Create Our Ultimate Goal Of Drug Free Nigeria”, Prof. Adeyeye identified such barriers as the absence of NAFDAC at sea ports to properly police the influx of controlled drugs, porous land borders, evasion of regulations and control among others as mitigating factors against a Drug free Nigeria.
To reverse the trend, “the law that create NAFDAC`s mandate must be kept, challenges associated with the control of drugs must be addressed and a state of emergency should be declared and all three arms of the government must recognize that children are dying, our youth are being enticed to criminality and terrorism through proceeds of drug and drug abuse”, she asserted.
Also speaking, wife of kebbi state Governor, Dr. Zainab Bagudu decried the emerging trend of abuse of legal pharmaceuticals like codeine containing syrup in which most victims are increasingly women saying the regulations governing pharmacies are treated with levity and no longer work as ‘prescription only’ drugs are sometimes sold without valid prescription.
She implored NAFDAC to undertake a holistic review of control and regulations guiding the procurement, distribution and access to prescriptive drugs that are regularly abused and prosecute offenders.
In his brief remarks, Kebbi state Governor, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu praised the initiative of the awareness campaign as laudable and promised to support interventions that will see to the end of the incidence of substance abuse in the state.
