Prof Nnabuko laments increase in fake products in s/east

– Prof Nnabuko  blamed desperate businessmen for the rise in fake products

– She says the greedy businessmen are trying to sabotage the work of NAFDAC

– The professor sayd unsuspecting citizens are at risk

Prof. Mrs. Justitia Nnabuko has lamented the prevalence of fake products and non-registered pharmaceutical drugs in the south east.

Vanguard reports that the professor, who is the dean of the faculty of business administration at the University of Nigeria (UNN), at the 104th inaugural lecture of the institution.

Nnabuko lamented that in spite of the work done by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), some businessmen were still financing the importation of substandard products. 

She said: “NAFDAC is rated as one of the top eighteen medical regulatory agencies in the world and the fourth on the African continent.

“However, monitoring of pharmaceutical activities has not yielded the much-desired transparency in the activities of drug firms as drug products assessment and registrations have not been effectively achieved in the South-East states of Nigeria.

“Many pharmaceutical facilities and drug products were yet to receive authentic registrations. The lives of the regulators had been threatened in the course of carrying out monitoring operations”.

She said the fake drugs were distributed to unsuspecting people in the society by many people interested in making quick cash.

She said: “Given that lots of quackery takes place in business, there are ethical standards, which marketers are expected to apply, but many people pushing products and services are not professional marketers and many organizations use them.

“So, I call on the Federal Government, to make enabling laws to drive the implementation of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria’s mandate on regulating the practice of all marketers in the country.

“Related government agencies like the NAFDAC, the Standards Organization of Nigeria, and the Consumer Protection Council, need also to be empowered in the area of enabling factors, like legal backing in implementing their mandate.”

In a related development, Chief Chris Ebede who is the leader of the Nigerian Igbo community in Europe expressed dismay at the reports circulating in Europe describing Igboland as a region for criminals.

 Ebede described as untrue the reports that the south east region of Nigeria, especially Anambra was the hideouts of armed robbers, kidnappers, advanced fee fraudsters and ritual murderers.