The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to immediately direct the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), and other relevant agencies to intensify surveillance, inspections, and crackdowns on fake drug manufacturers and distributors nationwide.
It also condemned in the strongest terms the criminal act of producing and distributing fake drugs, and commended the law enforcement agencies involved in uncovering the illegal operation in Osisioma Ngwa LGA.
The House, therefore, mandated the House Committee on Health and the Committee on Drugs and Narcotics to investigate the proliferation of fake drugs in Nigeria and engage with stakeholders to develop stronger policies for combating counterfeit pharmaceutical production.
The decision of the House followed the adoption of a motion of urgent importance moved at the plenary on Tuesday by Hon. Nnamdi Ezechi.
Presenting the motion, he said the recent shocking discovery of a warehouse and fake drug production factory in a village in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area (LGA) of Abia State, where counterfeit and expired pharmaceutical products, including injectables, were being produced and distributed for public consumption.
Ezechi noted that the illegal factory was engaged in the rebranding of expired drugs by altering their expiry dates and manufacturing fake medications, which pose a grave danger to public health and safety.
He said that the consumption of fake and substandard drugs could lead to severe health complications, drug resistance, treatment failures, and even loss of lives, thereby undermining the healthcare system in Nigeria.
The lawmaker expressed concern that this incident was not isolated, as similar cases of counterfeit drug manufacturing and distribution have been uncovered across the country, indicating a widespread public health crisis that requires immediate intervention.
He decried that the circulation of fake and substandard drugs has contributed to the high mortality rate in Nigeria, with unsuspecting citizens consuming ineffective or harmful medications, which worsens illnesses and causes avoidable deaths.
The lawmaker stressed that NAFDAC and other relevant agencies are responsible for regulating and ensuring the safety of pharmaceutical products in Nigeria, saying urgent measures must be taken to strengthen their enforcement mechanisms to prevent future occurrences.
It urged, “the federal government to immediately direct NAFDAC, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), and other relevant agencies to intensify surveillance, inspections, and crackdowns on fake drug manufacturers and distributors nationwide.”