NO less than 10 sachet-water factories were sealed off in Port Harcourt, Rivers States, by agents of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control for flouting the agency’s regulations.
The Rivers State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr. Bolakale Ayinde, said the operation, which was carried out in conjunction with the Association of Table Water Producers, was targetted at putting an end to the activities of unregistered and fake sachet water producers in Rivers State.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the operation on Wednesday, Ayinde explained that the agency discovered that some sachet water producers in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area were operating under unhygienic conditions.
He said the erring producers were operating without the agency’s licence, attaching fake NAFDAC numbers to their products.
Also, the agency on Wednesday commenced the trial of an errant bread baker, Mr. Afolabi Nurudeen, before the Federal High Court in Osogbo, Osun State for allegedly obstructing officials of the agency from performing their duties.
According to the charge sheet, Afolabi committed an offence under Section 25(1) of the NAFDAC Act, Cap 1, Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under section 25 (1) of same Act.
Ayinde, who is also the Assistant Director, Pharmaceuticals in the agency, said NAFDAC would not accept a situation where producers sold unwholesome sachet water to unsuspecting members of the public.
He pointed out that the activities of illegal sachet water producers were becoming worrisome, adding that the agency had put measures in place to check the excesses of manufacturers of the products.
Ayinde said, “NAFDAC’s partnership with the Association of Table Water Producers is to encourage self regulation and ensure that recalcitrant illegal producers are arrested and their machines confiscated.
“The agency is determined to bring sanity into the industry to safeguard the lives of consumers.”
Also, the state ATWAP Chairman, Mr. Alex Erekosima, expressed gratitude to the Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, for his recent directive that package/sachet water producers must belong to the association.