Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State has countered Peter Obi’s stance on the closure of the plumbing materials markets by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
As part of its fight against the proliferation of counterfeit drugs in Nigeria, NAFDAC recently shut down the entire Head Bridge Market in Onitsha following the discovery of fake drugs at the Ogbo Ogwu section of the market.
The agency uncovered fake drugs at various shops in the market and also seized 10 trucks of substandard, expired and falsified pharmaceutical products.
The operation affected other sections such as rod, allied and tools, plumbing materials, provisions and timber markets.
However, in his reaction to the closure of the entire market, Peter Obi, the former governor of the state and Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, said NAFDAC should not have shut down other market sections alongside the Ogbo Ogwu market where counterfeit drugs were found.
Obi argued that the closure of the whole market was excessive and unjustified, saying the total shutdown could affect the livelihoods of millions of people.
“Shutting down other neighboring markets not involved in addition to the Ogbo Ogwu Market, such as rod, allied and tools, plumbing materials, timber, surgical, and provision markets, seems excessive and unjustified. I therefore appeal for their immediate reopening, as their continued closure is severely affecting the livelihoods of millions, especially during this difficult period in our country.” Obi said in a statement on Monday, February 17, 2025.
Closure of Head Bridge Market: A Call for reconsideration of position
The entire Head Bridge Market in Onitsha has been closed by regulatory and security agencies due to suspected trading in illegal drugs within one section of the market known as Ogbo Ogwu.
Countering Obi’s stance, Soludo, in a statement released on Saturday, February 22, 2025, said he had ascertained the reason NAFDAC closed other adjoining markets alongside the drug section.
According to him, Ogbo Ogwu market leaders confirmed that the regulatory agency found counterfeit drugs in the plumbing material section of the market.
The statement read in part: “The leadership of the Plumbing materials market, which was shut down alongside the drug market, confirmed to me that the discoveries made by the Regulators in some shops in the plumbing material market were both shocking and disturbing.
“Right inside these shops were found cartons of counterfeit and controlled drugs, many of which had been banned globally. How these drugs, which have been banned globally and locally, are still being manufactured in India, pass through our various ports (sea and air), and find their way to our local drug markets remains a question only the relevant authorities can answer.”
While justifying the need for NAFDAC to “visit the market to enforce standards and check the sale of fake, counterfeit, and controlled drugs,” Soludo dismissed the narrative by “a few political actors” over the issue.
He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to tighten the noose on the supply end of the value chain, adding that his government has directed that the ongoing search in the market be expedited to allow traders at the Plumbing materials market to reopen and begin their legitimate commercial activities.
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