The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have intensified collaboration to fight the circulation of fake drugs and substandard consumables linked to operations within the country’s Free Trade Zones.
The two agencies agreed to improve joint monitoring and regulatory oversight of pharmaceutical products, food items and consumables produced or distributed by enterprises operating in the Free Trade Zones.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, announced the renewed partnership during a meeting with the Managing Director of NEPZA, Dr Olufemi Ogunyemi, at the NEPZA headquarters in Abuja.
Adeyeye said the collaboration became necessary to protect Nigerians from counterfeit and unsafe products finding their way into the market.
“We must view this meeting as a responsibility we have to the country to protect citizens from fake drugs and consumables that are infiltrating our markets from known and unknown destinations,” she said.
The NAFDAC DG reiterated the commitment of the agency to enforcing quality standards through testing, inspection and strict compliance measures across regulated industries.
She stressed that while the Free Trade Zone scheme remained important to Nigeria’s industrialization and export drive, there was a need to ensure that products entering the local market from the zones met approved safety and quality standards.
According to her, closer cooperation between both agencies would help eliminate regulatory gaps and strengthen monitoring across production lines.
“NEPZA and NAFDAC can fix this misalignment by jointly insisting on compliance. We can close this gap through excellent facility management and improved inspection across the production lines,” Adeyeye added.
Responding, NEPZA boss, Ogunyemi, described the partnership as timely, noting that the Free Trade Zone scheme had grown into a major economic platform with more than 63 zones and over 900 enterprises nationwide.
He acknowledged that effective regulation within the zones could be challenging, but assured that NEPZA would support NAFDAC in carrying out its statutory responsibilities.
“We need a joint effort to address some of the irregularities. We will allow NAFDAC to perform its regulatory functions because the public’s health depends on it,” he said.
Ogunyemi maintained that the agency had continued to ensure that Free Trade Zones were not used as channels for illicit or unregulated activities.
“We fully endorse this partnership and collaboration, which has the potential to enhance the scheme’s global compliance across all production and export activities for the benefit of the country,” he stated.
As part of efforts to strengthen coordination, both agencies confirmed the establishment of an eight-member technical committee to examine issues affecting seamless regulatory operations within the Free Trade Zones and recommend workable solutions.
