Reps Demand Details Of NAFDAC’s N2.5bn Raids

House of Representatives Committee on Food and Drug Administration and Control has asked the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to provide it with a location-by-location account of the N2.5 billion generated from the raids of illicit drug markets in Lagos, Onitsha and Aba.

The committee, chaired by the member representing Gboko/Tarka federal constituency of Benue state, Hon. Regina Akume, made this demand when the agency’s director-general, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, appeared before the panel in Abuja on Wednesday.

Adeyeye told lawmakers that NAFDAC had generated N2.5 billion from its recent clampdown on illicit drug markets in Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba.

She said that while all funds were paid directly into NAFDAC’s official account, N996 million was spent on enforcement operations, N159 million was borrowed from a donor grant, and N1.175 billion went to regulatory expenses, leaving the agency with about N206 million after the deductions.

Adeyeye said the operation, which deployed over 1,300 security personnel, uncovered widespread violations ranging from expired and unapproved drugs to poor storage practices.

“The charges collected were paid directly into a NAFDAC account. The total amount was about N2.5 billion—roughly N2.537 billion.

About N996 million was spent on operations in the three markets—Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba.

“We had to borrow N159 million from an existing grant because we didn’t have funds. In addition, regulatory expenses amounted to N1.175 billion. So, out of the N2.537 billion, we have only about N207 million left in the account,” she said.

Adeyeye said the enforcement drive, which lasted up to four weeks in some locations, uncovered serious threats to public health, adding that some shop owners were caught distributing banned substances like Tramadol and selling expired or unregistered medicines.

“These charges were not punitive but necessary. The standard fine for violating Good Distribution and Storage Practice (GDSP) is N2 million, but in many cases, we reduced it to N500,000,” she said.

She, however, lamented that the agency’s inability to sustain such critical operations is being crippled by severe revenue restrictions imposed by the federal government

While decrying the financial constraints facing the agency, Adeyeye explained that at the end of 2023, NAFDAC had N19 billion in its accounts, noting that N9 billion was removed before the agency could access it, and only N4.5 billion was eventually released.

Speaking of the agency’s 2024 raid in Kano, Adeyeye described the operation in the northwestern state as a monumental and court-mandated intervention that differed significantly from the raids conducted in Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba.

She said the Kano raid was anchored on a judgment delivered on February 16, 2024, by the Federal High Court, which ordered the relocation of open drug market traders to the newly constructed Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC), known as the Kanawa Pharmaceutical Centre.

“The traders initially resisted. There were real threats of violence. But we had no choice; we had to act. They padlocked their shops, but we bought bigger padlocks and sealed them. To reopen, they had to agree to relocate,” she said.

Adeyeye explained that no administrative charges or fines were collected during the Kano enforcement, due to the urgent and court-directed nature of the operation.

“These are the lives we are trying to save. We had no funds at the time, our accounts had just been shut down and reopened with zero balance at the start of January 2024. Yet, we had to carry out the court judgment and move over 1,300 shops into the regulated centre.

“In the South, Lagos, Onitsha, Aba, there was no CWC. So our approach was different. We had time to prepare, inspect, and charge offenders according to their violations,” she added.

A member of the committee, Hon. Emeka Idu, requested a detailed breakdown of the revenue generated from each location where fines were collected during the enforcement operations, but NAFDAC was unable to provide.

In her ruling, the committee’s chairman noted that the agency’s presentation was incomplete and asked NAFDAC to provide the panel with a detailed report at a later date.

“The work has not been completed. I would like to give you a chance to go back and work on this. How much was paid into the account? What goes in and what goes out. We haven’t talked about that…,” Akume said.