Adeyanju Urges Tinubu To Declare Emergency On Fake Drugs
Human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency over the circulation of fake and substandard drugs and other unsafe consumer products across Nigeria.
Adeyanju made the call in a statement issued in Abuja, where he also demanded changes in the leadership of regulatory agencies responsible for protecting Nigerians from dangerous products.
The activist specifically called for the removal of NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, as well as the heads of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and other agencies he accused of failing to adequately enforce regulatory standards.
According to Adeyanju, the continued presence of counterfeit medicines and substandard products in the Nigerian market demonstrates serious weaknesses in the country’s regulatory system.
He said Nigerians were being exposed daily to products that could pose serious risks to their health and safety.
The lawyer expressed particular concern over reports that some medicines were being sold in wholesale quantities in open markets and exposed to direct heat.
“No responsible government should expose its citizens to such risks and expect mortality rates not to rise,” Adeyanju said.
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He accused NAFDAC of being unable to effectively contain the spread of fake and substandard products and said similar concerns existed regarding SON and other consumer-protection agencies.
Adeyanju urged President Tinubu to take what he described as decisive action by replacing the leadership of regulatory agencies that had failed to meet their responsibilities.
“The President must be alive to his responsibility and act decisively by removing the Director-General of NAFDAC and the heads of other failed regulatory agencies, including SON,” he said.
He also called for the appointment of new leadership capable of strengthening regulation, monitoring and enforcement.
Beyond personnel changes, Adeyanju urged the Federal Government to conduct a comprehensive review of the regulatory framework governing medicines and consumer products.
He said the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard goods should be treated as a national emergency requiring immediate government attention.
“Nigerians cannot continue to pay with their lives for regulatory failure,” he added.
The call comes amid renewed scrutiny of counterfeit and substandard products in Nigerian markets. NAFDAC has reported enforcement operations involving seizures and destruction of suspected unsafe regulated products.
