The Bayelsa State government has raised fresh concerns over the influx of fake drugs, drinks, cosmetics and other harmful products in local markets, warning that the trend is fuelling cases of liver, kidney and lung diseases across the state.
Briefing journalists in Yenagoa, the commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Hon Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, described the situation as a “serious emergency” that requires urgent attention from both government and residents.
According to the commissioner, several government agencies are already working to tackle the menace, including the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, Environmental Sanitation Authority and the Consumer Protection Unit of the Ministry of Trade and Investment.
She revealed that some offenders have been arrested and prosecuted, while confiscated goods are being disposed of to safeguard public health.
“Environmental Sanitation Authority is already in court with some of the people that are selling these fake drugs, fake drinks and other fake items and those fake goods were confiscated. The Ministry of Environment, they went out for their normal checks, when they got to Swali market, they saw soft drinks, body cream, hair relaxer that are all fake and expired.
“For us as a government, we want Bayelsans that are healthy. Anything we can prevent, we start to prevent it and we believe that joining hands with all of the agencies that are in charge of these, we will be able to stop the influx of those kinds of things. The ones we have seen, we have confiscated them, they are even being arrested,” she said.
Drawing from her experience as a trained nurse, Koku-Obiyai linked the rise in chronic health conditions to the consumption and use of substandard products.
She said, “I have my worries because I am a Nurse. If you visit the Federal Medical Centre or any of these health facilities and see the number of kidney and liver diseases, you’d begin to wonder why it is so. Most times, you’d see children, in fact it doesn’t have age limit again. Some of these harmful chemicals that are injected or added to both drugs, soft drinks, wine, as far as it is fake, it has a way of having direct effect on the liver, kidney, even the lungs.
“The cream we use, when you rob it directly on your skin, the skin absorbs it, that one enters into the blood straight. We need to alert our people, we need to enlighten them on the need to be sure of what they are buying.”
She urged residents to be extra vigilant while shopping, stressing the need to check expiry dates, NAFDAC registration numbers, product colors, and textures before purchase.
“If it is too cheap compared to the normal price, that should raise a red flag. The same applies to the water we drink. Some of us cannot manage water from our homes. It is always bottled water, pure water you don’t know how it’s processed,” she added.
The commissioner emphasised that the government remains committed to reducing the spread of fake products, assuring that enforcement agencies will continue to clamp down on offenders. She also encouraged members of the public to report suspicious items, promising that their identities would be kept confidential.
“There are deaths that are quite preventable. We need to be careful; we need to educate our children and enlighten Bayelsans that it is a red alert area especially when it is too cheap from the normal price,” she stated
