Merchants on the Ogbo-Ogwu Bridgehead Drug Market in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Tuesday protested the continual closure of their retailers by the Nationwide Company for Meals, Drug Administration, and Management.
The merchants, below the aegis of Involved and Real Members of Ogbo-Ogwu Drug Market, lamented that the event has introduced untold hardship and monetary burdens upon them.
The aggrieved protesters, numbering over 2,000, carried placards with totally different inscriptions and marched across the market ranging from Oshogbo Park, as much as the River Niger Bridge, Onitsha, and again to Uga Junction, claiming that no fewer than 5 merchants have died and several other others have been hospitalised as a consequence of despair and starvation.
They alleged that NAFDAC is demanding N2 million from every individual earlier than they’d reopen the market.
Whereas addressing journalists through the protest, the Nationwide Convener/Secretary of Involved Real Members of Ogbo-Ogwu Medicine Market, Ifeanyi Chinedu, stated their retailers are nonetheless below lock and key, opposite to NAFDAC’s claims that it has reopened them.
Chinedu urged the Federal Authorities to prevail on NAFDAC to reopen the market and likewise examine claims of seizure of pretend medicine, insisting that NAFDAC officers illegally invaded their retailers of their absence and carted away real registered medicine of over 60 trailer masses from the assorted retailers.
He listed a few of their calls for, saying, “We, the members of the Ogbo-Ogwu drug market, after our long-awaited first normal assembly with the caretaker committee chairman and his executives because the invasion of the market by NAFDAC officers, made the next declarations.
“That NAFDAC invaded our varied retailers in our absence and carted away correctly registered items value billions of Naira.
“In addition they carted away medicine from multinational firms from the USA, Germany, Turkey, and Pakistan, all of worldwide requirements and impeccable qualities.
“The claims by NAFDAC that each one the medicine they carted away are faux and substandard are inhumane and malicious lies meant to tarnish the picture of 1000’s of accountable and real businessmen and ladies on the Ogbo-Ogwu drug market.
“We problem the Federal Authorities to arrange a high-powered panel of inquiry to analyze the products carted away in over 60 trailer masses with the goal of ascertaining the veracity of the claims of NAFDAC Director-Basic and a few of her corrupt officers.
“That the claims by NAFDAC officers that our varied retailers had been being searched in our presence are one other set of malicious and fabricated lies meant to carpet their heinous crime of barbaric breaking, getting into, looking and looting of somebody’s store in his absence, together with boutiques available in the market on this twenty first century and democratic world.”
The aggrieved merchants additionally handed a vote of no confidence in the marketplace caretaker committee chairman and his government and referred to as for his or her fast resignation.
In addition they claimed that NAFDAC has imposed a high-quality of N2 million earlier than any store can be reopened, saying it’s for documentation functions.
“NAFDAC has mandated that every store proprietor pays N2 million to them earlier than opening the market; that is ridiculous. We reject in its entirety the legal fines imposed on us by NAFDAC and name on the Federal Minister of Well being and Nationwide Safety Adviser, the Nationwide Meeting, to return to our rescue.
“We demand the fast and unconditional reopening of the market to real businessmen and ladies of the Ogbo-Ogwu drug market to determine the extent of looting bequeathed on real businessmen and ladies available in the market. Over 5 individuals have died, and several other others have been hospitalised as a consequence of despair.
“We name for fast prosecution of these caught with suspected faux and substandard medicine, along with the current caretaker committee, who collaborated with them to usher in these lethal medicine into the market.
“We stay law-abiding to the Federal Authorities led by President Bola Tinubu. We additionally pledge our loyalty to the state authorities led by Prof. Chukwuma Soludo,” he added.
A dealer, Uchechukwu Ola, stated, “It’s been two months since our market was sealed, and inside this era, we have now not been in a position to feed because the store is the one supply of residing we rely upon.
“We would like the federal government to open the market; we’re sellers of real merchandise; the claims by NAFDAC concerning the market should not true. The medicine that had been carted away are real and registered.”
When contacted, the NAFDAC’s Zonal Director, South-East, Martins Iluyomade, dismissed all of the allegations, insisting that its officers carried out the enforcement train from February 10 to March 5, 2025, as stipulated by the legislation guiding the company.
Iluyomade stated all of the objects faraway from the retailers didn’t have NAFDAC approval whereas restating that the present administration of NAFDAC commits to making sure that faux medicine are stamped out from the markets.
He stated, “The allegations are baseless and unfounded. The enforcement train took us a few month from February 10 to March 5, and we need to say we carried out the train as stipulated by legislation. Bulk volumes of narcotics and different medicines that aren’t accepted due to their impact had been confiscated from the market.
“The quantity that we discovered throughout this train is greater than sufficient to destabilise a rustic; by analysis, there’s a correlation between them and insecurity.”
