Nigerian Manufacturers Call for Stiffer Penalties on Fake Drugs
The Manufacturer’s Association of Nigeria (MAN) is calling on the country’s National Assembly to enact stiffer penalties against people who smuggle in hazardous materials, including fake drugs, into Nigeria.
Speaking at MAN’s stakeholder’s forum on fake, counterfeit, smuggling and other illicit trades in Abuja, the organization’s president Chief Kola Jamodu said that in addition to tougher penalties on bringing counterfeit drugs into the country, the government should stiffen punishments on importing used batteries and old, potentially harmful, electronic products, according to AllAfrica.com.
Jamodu also said that he hopes the National Assembly acts on the recommendations quickly.
“We pray and plead with our legislators to expedite action in passing the bill of an act to repeal and re-enact the counterfeit, fake drugs and unwholesome processed foods (miscellaneous provisions) bill 2010, the soonest possible in order to save more Nigerians’ lives,” he said, reports the news source.
Jamodu told the conference that despite the strong efforts of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other government agencies to keep the counterfeit drugs out of Nigeria, MAN has been under siege from fake products.