FIC REPORT (IMO STATE) – The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has issued a stern warning to patent medicine dealers in Imo State against the sale and distribution of counterfeit, expired, unregistered and dangerous medicines, declaring that no amount of financial gain justifies putting human lives at risk.
The warning was delivered by the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, during a sensitisation workshop on pharmacovigilance and drug distribution safety held in Owerri for members of the Nigerian Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED).
Represented by the Agency’s South-East Zonal Director, Mr Festus Ukadike, the Director-General condemned unethical practices within the pharmaceutical distribution chain, particularly the illegal alteration of expiry dates, falsification of product labels and procurement of medicines from questionable suppliers who lure dealers with unusually attractive discounts.
She stressed that all unregistered pharmaceutical products were considered fake and cautioned dealers against allowing the pursuit of profit to compromise public safety.
Prof. Adeyeye reaffirmed that the prohibition on the sale and distribution of dangerous, unregistered and controlled substances remained firmly in force. These include high-dose tramadol variants, anarcha and discontinued or expired oral suspensions reportedly finding their way into grassroots markets.
Emphasising the dangers of expired medicines, she maintained that such products must never be revalidated or returned to circulation under any circumstances.
As part of efforts to rid the pharmaceutical supply chain of dangerous products, NAFDAC has strengthened its enforcement capacity through intelligence-driven surveillance and the deployment of handheld digital scanners to track supply chains, uncover illegal warehouses and identify non-compliant vendors.
The Agency warned that operators involved in falsifying expiry dates, revalidating expired medicines or distributing counterfeit and substandard products would face business closure, product forfeiture, administrative sanctions and criminal prosecution.
Speaking on Good Storage and Distribution Practices, an Assistant Chief Regulatory Officer of NAFDAC, Mr Cletus Agwu, stressed that the safety and quality of medicines must be maintained at every stage of the distribution process.
He charged wholesalers and distributors to procure pharmaceutical products only from authorised manufacturers and supply them exclusively to legally permitted entities. He also emphasised strict adherence to temperature requirements, proper storage conditions, quality management systems and accurate documentation.
On pharmacovigilance, the NAFDAC State Coordinator, Mrs Helen Okanya, explained that monitoring the safety of medicines must continue even after they have been approved and introduced into the market.
She urged patent medicine dealers to promptly report suspected adverse drug reactions, product quality defects and substandard medicines through NAFDAC’s digital MedSafety App, describing the reporting process as an important public health safeguard rather than an avenue for witch-hunting or punishing operators.
Mrs Okanya disclosed that the Agency had extended similar sensitisation programmes to patent medicine dealers in Okigwe and Orlu Senatorial Districts as part of its wider effort to strengthen drug safety awareness across Imo State.
In his response, the Imo State Chairman of NAPPMED, Mr Cyprian Okonkwo, commended NAFDAC for the initiative, noting that the workshop had equipped members with valuable knowledge on regulatory compliance, safe medicine storage and their professional responsibilities towards consumers.
He assured the Agency that the association would take the lessons beyond the workshop by sensitising medicine vendors across the 27 local government areas of Imo State, particularly on the identification and rejection of banned, counterfeit and expired products.
Mr Okonkwo also reaffirmed NAPPMED’s commitment to sustaining its partnership with NAFDAC in sanitising the drug distribution network and protecting members of the public from the dangers of unsafe medicines.
The workshop reinforces the importance of collaboration between regulatory authorities and medicine dealers in ensuring that only safe, genuine and properly stored pharmaceutical products reach consumers, while strengthening public confidence in the drug distribution system.
CHIKA ANURUNWA
ACIPRO/ANIPR
9/11/2026
