Drugs Registration: Pharmacists Dare NAFDAC.

(From Vanguard (Nigeria) - AAGM)

Byline: Mike Ebonugwo

As NAFDAC prepares to wield the big stick against those dealing in unregistered drug products in Nigeria, defiant members of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) are saying that the Agency should first put its house in order before enforcing any drugs registration law

THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is presently poised for a showdown with all those producing, circulating and selling unregistered drug products in Nigeria. Four months after the expiration of the December 31, 2003 deadline it issued for all such regulated products to be registered, the Agency has at last expressed strong determination to enforce its directive by clamping down and punishing all individuals and groups who failed to comply with it.

According to NAFDAC's Director, Enforcement and Chairman, Federal Task Force on Fake and Counterfeit Drugs, Dioka Ejionueme, "the ultimatum the Agency gave has expired; in other words we will be justified to take appropriate action on violators of existing laws". He did not stop there.

"What we're doing has been correctly described as war. So, we're going to enforce the laws to the letter. So, any person displaying, importing, manufacturing, moving or selling unregistered drugs (and of course unregistered drugs are by law fake drugs); any such person should just be ready for us. For the sake of strategy, we will not give out too much details. But the Agency will like to reassure the public that sooner than later, we will get cracking. As a matter of fact we have started something," he told Vanguard Features in an interview.

However, NAFDAC's move …