….calls for closure of Cemetery Market
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), on Tuesday, uncovered fakers of assorted wines and beverages in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State.
The agency said that about ten persons have been arrested so far and called for the temporary closure of Cemetery Market, Aba, which is the host for adulteration of the products, for proper sanitisation.
Martins Iluyomade, director, NAFDAC, South-East Zone, while addressing journalists, said that they acted on information supplied by concerned citizens, on the activities of the fakers in the market.
The raid which started on Monday, continued on Tuesday, as NAFDAC intensified efforts to rid the market and country of fake and harmful products.
“What’s happening here is worse than the activities of “Boko Haram”. We saw how many shops were converted to manufacturing centres for the faking of wines, and expensive drinks, and the revalidation of dates for expired products.
“We have the cooperation of the state government and so far, we have discovered 240 shops, used for this illegal manufacturing of fake consumables”.
“Four long vehicles cannot remove what we seized from this market, which is an indication of the volume of fake products produced in this market.
“No wonder we have all manner of health issues in the country and the funny thing is that we use our money to buy this evil. Our DG is not leaving any stone unturned in getting rid of fake products in our markets.
“I will suggest that this market be shut down for now until we sanitise this market for a while. We’ve written to the appropriate authorities to that effect and we think it is the right thing to do.
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Meanwhile, Goodluck Ibem, president general, Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), has frowned at the development, describing it as man’s inhumanity to man, which it says should not be treated with kid gloves.
Ibem called on the National Assembly to find a way to amend the constitution to ensure that nothing less than a capital punishment is inserted, as a legal consequence for producing and marketing fake products.
He called on the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti to cooperate with NAFDAC to ensure that Cemetery Market is sanitised and bad eggs fished out and prosecuted, while genuine business people are encouraged to do their lawful businesses.
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Charles Chinekezi, chairman, Aba Unit of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) described the development as an act of terrorism and suggested that those behind the act should be properly dealt with by the agency.
Chinekezi however, charged officials of NAFDAC to show seriousness in the fight against fake, substandard and expired products in Nigeria
He explained that the attitude of the agency will go a long way in determining, if such activities will continue or stop, stressing that similar raids and arrests have taken place before with the perpetrators returning to business within some time.
