Activist and lawyer Deji Adeyanju has urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency over the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard drugs and consumer products in Nigeria.
Adeyanju, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, said the alarming prevalence of fake and substandard medicines and other unsafe consumer products pointed to what he described as a regulatory collapse in critical sectors. He said Nigerians were being exposed to dangerous products daily, including medicines allegedly sold wholesale in the open under the hot sun.
The statement reads, “The alarming prevalence of counterfeit and substandard drugs and other consumer products in Nigeria points to a complete collapse of regulation in critical sectors. Nigerians are being exposed to dangerous products daily, from fake and substandard medicines to unsafe consumer goods, with reports of drugs being sold wholesale in the open under the hot sun. No responsible government should expose its citizens to such risks and expect mortality rates not to rise.
“NAFDAC appears incapable of effectively curbing the proliferation of fake and substandard products, while similar concerns extend to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and other regulatory agencies responsible for protecting Nigerians. The President must be alive to his responsibility and act decisively by removing the Director-General of NAFDAC and the heads of other failed regulatory agencies, including SON, and appointing competent leadership capable of restoring effective regulation and enforcement.
“The Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency on the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard drugs and products and undertake a comprehensive review of the country’s regulatory system. Nigerians cannot continue to pay with their lives for regulatory failure.”
