The leadership of Ogbo-Ogwu Bridgehead Drug Market in Onitsha, Anambra State, has dissociated itself from the recent protest staged by some traders of the market against the continuous closure of their shops by the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control.
Some aggrieved traders of the market, under the aegis of ‘Concerned and Genuine Members of Ogbo-Ogwu Drug Market’, protested on Tuesday the continuous closure of their shops by NAFDAC, lamenting that the development has brought untold hardship and financial burdens upon them.
The aggrieved protesters, who carried placards with different inscriptions and marched round the market, claimed that no fewer than five traders had died and several others had been hospitalised due to depression and hunger caused by the closure of their shops.
They also alleged that NAFDAC is demanding N2 million from each person before they would reopen the market.
The closure of the market is a sequel to the one-month enforcement exercise carried out by NAFDAC to rid the place of fake, counterfeit, unregistered, and banned drugs.
But in their reaction, the leadership of the market, led by its caretaker chairman, Ndubuisi Chukwuleta, while addressing journalists at the market on Thursday, said those who protested against the NAFDAC enforcement exercise at the market are not genuine traders of the Ogbo-Ogwu drug market.
Chukwuleta, flanked by other executive members of the market leadership, appealed to NAFDAC, the Federal Government and Anambra State government, the media, and the public at large to disregard the protest, insisting that the market is not in support of the protest.
He alleged that the protesters were being sponsored by one “faceless group” to frustrate the effort of the market leadership in resolving the issue.
He said, “Those people who protested against NAFDAC activities in the market are not our members, and they are not traders in the market. The leadership of Ogbo-Ogwu Bridgehead Market dissociates from the protest; we are not part of the protest. We align with NAFDAC in their efforts to sanitise the market of fake and counterfeit drugs.
“NAFDAC has announced the reopening of the market; although most of the shops are still under lock and key, this is because they are waiting for proper profiling as early as stated in an agreement between NAFDAC and the market leadership. The affected traders are expected to visit the NAFDAC office and clear themselves before getting the approval to reopen their shops.
“The profiling exercise is currently ongoing here in Onitsha and we are getting it right. The NAFDAC raid is not new, it has happened also in 2007 under late Prof Dora Akunyili’s watch. What the agency is doing is in line with my leadership to keep the Ogbo-Ogwu market free of fake and expired drugs which Governor Chukwuma Soludo also preaches.
“As I speak to you now, even my shop is still under lock and key because I am yet to complete my profiling exercise, but those who have completed theirs have opened and started selling.
According to him, the claim by the protesters that NAFDAC was demanding N2 million before each shop would be reopened is false, adding that some fines were imposed for various infractions committed by any trader.
“Their claim that they have been asked to pay N2 million before reopening their shops is false. The true position is that there is a fine imposed for particular infractions as stated in NAFDAC laws which they are aware of. If they find unregistered, banned, or counterfeit products in your shop, as the case may be, there are fines for each offence. It is not new.
“The enforcement exercise was also carried out in Lagos, Aba, and other places and the traders there have been complying with the NAFDAC’s stipulated guidelines without any issue. We, as market leadership of Ogbo-Ogwu Bridgehead, Onitsha, therefore, once again dissociate from the protest, and we urged the public, particularly Onitsha residents, to disregard it and go about their lawful businesses,” he added.
The Chairman equally commended Soludo and the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, for their fatherly and motherly role in resolving the matter.
Meanwhile, the NAFDAC’s Zonal Director, South-East, Martins Iluyomade, on Tuesday, dismissed all the allegations, insisting that its officers carried out the enforcement exercise from February 10 to March 5, 2025, as stipulated by the law guiding the agency.
Iluyomade said all the items removed from the shops did not have NAFDAC approval while restating that the current management of NAFDAC commits to ensuring that fake drugs are stamped out of the markets.
