The National Agency For Food And Drug Administration and Control has sealed two unregistered water-packaging companies for allegedly operating without approval in the Ota area of Ogun State.
The State Coordinator, NAFDAC, Ogun 2 Office, Mr. Philip Benu, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Ota after the exercise, that the two companies failed to meet NAFDAC’s requirements for registration.
Benu said the raid and enforcement were based on routine inspections by regulatory officers in the Ogun 2 office, Ota.
He said that the facilities of the two companies were placed on hold with NAFDAC seal and the companies were invited to the office for scrutiny when they were found operating without approval early in the year.
Benu added that at the time of the first inspection, there was nobody on the ground to warrant immediate arrest for questioning at both facilities.
He said that despite the seal placed and letters of invitation dropped for the two companies to visit the NAFDAC office in Ota, they remained adamant and went ahead to remove those seals placed at the entrances of both companies.
The NAFDAC state coordinator further said the two companies resumed production of unregistered water products with fake NAFDAC registration numbers, operating in a dirty and unhygienic environment.
”For anyone to produce any registered packaged product, you must have a building or adapted one which must meet the minimum requirements of NAFDAC.
“In addition, for you to get the NAFDAC number, we need to visit your site and ensure that the facilities are okay.
“It is after your product had passed through our laboratory test that NAFDAC would approve a number for you.
“We also need to monitor such producers on a routine basis to ensure that they are doing the right thing,” the NAFDAC state coordinator explained.
Benu noted that what some of the people were doing was to get any place and buy machines without NAFDAC approval and start producing in one-room apartments.
He, however, said that the two companies had been stopped from producing any of the fake products and their machines for production had been evacuated to the NAFDAC office in Ota.
He added that the enforcement would be a continuous exercise, adding that illegal producers should desist from such acts and come and register at the state NAFDAC office.
He said that NAFDAC was on surveillance and once anyone was caught, they would face the full wrath of the law.
Benu noted that there was no hiding place for those producers who produced without the approval of NAFDAC.
As part of efforts to curb the outbreak of Cholera in some parts of Ogun State, which has killed at least 12 people, the Ogun State Government, through the Ministry of Environment, set out to commence the verification of producers of table water and beverages in the state.
This was disclosed by the state Commissioner for Environment, Mr Ola Oresanya during a stakeholders’ meeting with the Table Water and Beverages Producers Association of Nigeria held at the ministry’s Conference Hall, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
NAN
