Anambra Govt. Warns Herbal Practitioners Against Conniving With Criminals
Anambra State Government has explained that the ongoing bio-data registration of herbal practitioners aims at knowing identities, and operation bases of herbal practitioners in the state.
The Managing Director of Indigenous Medicine and Herbal Practice Agency, Dr. Daniel Ejie, who made this known during a chat with newsmen in Awka, warned that herbal practitioners who are opposed to government security measures to checkmate activities of kidnappers, ritualists and other criminal elements in the state to retrace their steps.
He pointed out that the essence of the database is in line with the vision of Soludo administration to provide a regulated and italicised system to identify genuine and quacks in the herbal practice, and warned that violators would be sanctioned.
The Managing Director warned herbal practitioners who are opposed to government security measures to checkmate activities of kidnappers, ritualists and other criminal elements in the state to retrace their steps.
Ejie disclosed that the agency decided to call a meeting to bring different agitating bodies on board for harmony, including the National Association of Traditional Medicine Practitioners (NATMP), Igbo Traditional Associations, and Modern Traditional Association, among others.
Ejie dismissed as baseless and frivolous, allegation that the agency has earned about N200 million from the ongoing bio data exercise, saying that the exercise has not even generated one-quarter of the amount being bandied.
He further clarified that government approved the payment of N10,000, as well as N1,000 for membership and identity cards per member, which, according to him, are paid promptly into government-designated banks, and receipts issued by the agency.
The Managing Director also explained that inauguration of the board is under the authority of the state governor, and hinted that his detractors are mainly those who have been using the name of the board to allegedly extort and divert money meant for government coffers.
Ejie pointed out that the core mandate of the agency cover capturing all herbal practitioners on the state government’s database, undertaking inspection of operation bases of practitioners for easy identification, registration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and interfacing with members to identify challenges and assist them.
He said that members are specifically those who use rootd or herbs to treat illnesses, adding that the inspection of their operation bases would help the agency know if the person is a herbal practitioner or not.
Ejie, moreover, observed that the bio-data registration started earlier, before Soludo was inaugurated on March 17 this year, and that practitioners have been given till November this year to complete their registration.
He revealed that inspection of the operation bases of supposed herbal practitioners would determine if they could be considered fit to practice as members or use the profession to commit crimes in the state.
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