Importation of foreign drugs impacts negatively on nation’s economy - NAFDAC

Abiodun OBA

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said importation of so many products, particularly drugs have negative impact on the nation’s economy.

The Director General of the NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who expressed concerns that Nigeria depends so much on foreign goods said dependency on foreign goods, would not grow our economy but rather, retard its development.

Adeyeye made this assertion at a news conference while launching palliatives for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Abuja.

The DG noted that COVID-19 pandemic has caused increase in prices of imported goods as the country has over neglected local industries and local production.

She therefore, advised, that Nigeria should look inward and improve on its local production of the citizens’ essential needs instead of relying on foreign goods.

“We need to wake up and do what we are supposed to do, that means, less dependence on other countries; if we can learn this lesson, COVID-19 will be a blessing.

Adeyeye who commended the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria and Ministry of Finance for seeing the need to pay more attention to local industries, revealed that her agency launched the palliatives for MSMEs as a result of its drive to promote the country’s economy and

“because times are hard and people are faced with many challenges, this is an opportunity for us to look inward and support the country through MSMEs.

“This is one of the reasons we are focusing on MSMEs.

“Micro small businesses are significant in terms of driving the country’s economy, without them, our economy may suffer, without them recession might come in.

“Today mark what we are going to do for the next 90 days, the first 200 micro small businesses will get the opportunity to register free,” she said.

Adeyeye said that the agency had also reduced the fees for registration by 80 per cent for companies that had already established but are yet to renew their licenses.

She said that the fines on those companies that had already registered but yet to renew their licences would also be waived to encourage growth.

The NAFDAC boss expressed readiness to welcome herbal practitioners ready to show their experience with scientific proof to treat the COVID-19..

She reminded that there has not been any vaccine yet both home and abroad to cure the virus even though efforts are on to secure vaccines for it.