Customs, NAFDAC sign MoU to combat illicit products

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The agreement aims at strengthening collaboration in combating the influx of illicit pharmaceutical products and other harmful substances into Nigeria.

The MOU was signed at the office of the comptroller-general of customs (CGC) on Thursday in Abuja.

Adewale Adeniyi, comptroller-general (CG ) of NCS, said the MoU is the culmination of years of dedicated dialogue and coordination between the agencies.

He said the provisions of the MoU include a comprehensive scope of collaboration, particularly in intelligence sharing.

“This partnership is a response to a major scourge we are facing in the country,” NAN quoted the CG as saying.

“Sometimes, at midnight, NAFDAC DG sends intelligence to me, saying, ‘we learnt that a suspicious container may be berthing in the morning’. This kind of real-time information flow is critical to our joint efforts.

“It is time for all of us to say, collectively, that this will be the beginning of the end. We are going to save Nigeria and the future of our kids from these dangerous products.”

Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC director-general, described the move as a significant and necessary one, given the impact of the products regulated by her agency on Nigerians.

“We consume at least two of our regulated products everyday — food and healthcare items,” she said.

“This partnership is about ensuring that the food, drugs, and healthcare products we take are safe and of the highest quality.”

Adeyeye said unregulated and illicit products pose a threat to national security, as some approved chemicals could be misused by criminals and terrorists.

“We have ghost companies that are not on our lists. This MoU marks the beginning of the end of such practices,” she added.