Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has called on President Bola Tinubu to remove the heads of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and other regulatory agencies over what he described as widespread regulatory failure.
Adeyanju, in a statement, raised the alarm over the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard medicines and consumer products in Nigeria, warning that Nigerians are being exposed to dangerous products daily.
He particularly expressed concern over reports of medicines allegedly being sold wholesale in the open under extreme heat, describing the development as unacceptable.
According to him, NAFDAC has failed to effectively curb the proliferation of fake and substandard products, while similar concerns extend to SON and other agencies charged with protecting consumers.
Adeyanju urged President Tinubu to act decisively by removing the heads of the affected agencies and appointing competent leadership capable of restoring effective regulation, monitoring and enforcement.
He also called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard drugs and other products.
The lawyer further demanded a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s regulatory system, warning that Nigerians should not continue to bear the consequences of regulatory failures.
“Nigerians cannot continue to pay with their lives for regulatory failure,” Adeyanju said.
