Business

50% imported pharmaceutical products in Nigeria are fake – NAFDAC

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has said that 50 per cent of imported pharmaceutical products in Nigeria are fake.

The Director General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this during a recent stakeholders’ engagement in Abuja.

She explained that the certificate of a pharmaceutical product (CPP) is expected to follow the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and it establishes the status of the product and the applicant for the certificate in the exporting country.

However, Adeyeye lamented that despite efforts to ensure product quality, many CPPs arriving in Nigeria are fake.

According to her, substandard and falsified products threaten access to safe, efficacious, and affordable medicines, and undermine the achievement of universal health coverage in Nigeria, and Africa.

She explained that WHO created a scheme called Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CPP) and what this means is that “if we send a CPP out to another country, we are assuring the receiving country that it will be of quality.”

According to Mrs Adeyeye, most of the medicines imported to Nigeria are from South East Asia.

She said: “We have a scheme where before medicines that were approved leave that part of the world, we do pre-shipment testing, and that comes with CPP to assure us of quality, but that is not the case, because through our scheme we have been able to stop over 140 products that were approved for coming in.

“We found out that more than 50 per cent of the CPPs that come into our country are fake. Part of those responsible is our people that go to China or India and we are going to deal with it.“

She said the agency is more stringent than ever, hence there is no cutting of corners.

She noted that trade is a mutual agreement and if that agreement is harming one part of the agreement, it will be stopped.

“If a company is suspected to be compromising, in two hours we will be there, and we will shut the company down,” she said.

Mrs Adeyeye expressed concern that the significant prevalence of substandard and falsified medicines in Africa poses a major threat to public health, adding that the prevalence of falsified medicines in the region is due to limited regulation processes.

“Only about 10 per cent of national regulatory agencies have attained maturity level three. What leads to maturity level three is market control, and that is one of the nine models of maturity level three, so we have a lot of work to do in Africa,” she said.

“The NAFDAC’s mandate puts a burden on us to see a reduction in substandard and falsified medicines, both the ones that are locally manufactured and the ones that are imported.”

Mrs Adeyeye said the agency is doing its best to fight substandard and falsified medicines and products based on three thematic areas, which are to prevent, detect, and respond.

Business

Dangote Refinery announces first PMS exports to Cameroon

Dangote Refinery and Neptune Oil jointly announced the first-ever export of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, from Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest oil refinery, to Cameroon.

The 650,000 barrels per day refinery disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

Dangote Refinery said that the feat is the result of a strategic collaboration between the two companies, underscoring their commitment to strengthening economic ties between Nigeria and Cameroon while meeting the region’s growing energy demands.

Reacting, Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of the Dangote Group, noted that the export of PMS to Cameroon is a tangible demonstration of the group’s vision for a united and energy-independent Africa.

“With this development, we are laying the foundation for a future where African resources are refined and exchanged within the continent for the benefit of our people,” he said.

On his part, Antoine Ndzengue, Director and Owner of Neptune Oil, emphasised that the partnership with Dangote Refinery marks a turning point for Cameroon by becoming the first importer of petroleum products from this world-class refinery.

“We are bolstering our country’s energy security and supporting local economic development. This initial supply, executed without international intermediaries, reflects our commitment to serving our markets independently and efficiently,” he stated.

Business

Ekiti Airport gets NCAA’s approval to commence non-scheduled flight operation December 15

Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport (EAICA) Ado-Ekiti has received the approval of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to commence non-scheduled flight operation effective December 15th, 2024.

The NCAA, in a letter dated December 11, 2024 and addressed to Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, said the approval of the non-scheduled operations under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) at the airport is for a period of six months- December 15, 2024 to June 15, 2025.

The letter, which was signed by NCAA Acting Director General Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, was in response to the state government’s application for flight operational permit for the airport.

According to NCAA, the approval for a six months non-schedule operation at the airport is to enable the NCAA validate the implementation of the pending findings and to allow Ekiti State Government time to rectify a few outstanding Corrective Action items indicated in the agency’s last inspection report.

As part of compliance steps towards the commencement of the non-scheduled flight operations at the airport, operations are to be in agreement with relevant agencies for provision of essential services, including Air Traffic Services, Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Services, Aviation Security and Meteorological services.

It will be recalled that the State government had earlier signed MoUs and Service Level Agreements with these federal aviation agencies.

The Government of Ekiti State welcomes NCAA’s approval for the non-scheduled flight operation, which allows private jets and other chartered flights to land and take off from the airport between 6.00am to 6.00pm (or sunrise to sunset), preparatory to the final approval for commercial flight operations.

Most new airports are usually given non-scheduled flight approval to allow them clear audit gaps in their compliance before final approval for flight operational permit.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji describes the NCAA’s approval as a welcome development and a justification for the state’s investment in the airport project, which was designed to boost Ekiti State’s socioeconomic development by making the state more readily accessible.

Governor Oyebanji had earlier in the year assured stakeholders that the Ekiti airport would become operational before the end of the year.

Business

NCAA to punish airline operators for delayed tickets refund

N46bn debt: NCAA threatens to withdraw airlines’ licences

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has expressed its readiness to punish any airlines that delay tickets refund to the passengers.

The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, Michael Achimugu, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja,.

He said tickets refund compliance regulations remain central to the NCAA’s consumer protection agenda.

According to him, the time had come for airlines to adhere strictly to the refund timelines as failure to comply will attract immediate sanctions under Part 19 of the regulations.

The director said Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023 aimed to safeguard passenger rights.

Speaking on a specific case involving Air Peace, the director stated that the airline had exceeded the stipulated refund timeframe, compelling the NCAA to demand swift compliance.

Achimugu added that the incident has triggered the regulators to take decisive action against any form of non-compliance.

“Cash purchases must be refunded immediately, and by cash. Refunds for electronic payments, including mobile apps and internet banking, must occur within 14 days.

“Over the past year, the NCAA has worked with airlines to enhance passenger experience and resolve operational challenges.

”The Authority has maintained a balanced approach, fostering cooperation between operators and regulators to promote better service delivery.

“Most airlines have been responsive, and the relationship between operators and the NCAA has significantly improved, benefiting passengers across the board,” he said.

Achimugu, however, said that the era of leniency had ended with stricter enforcement measures now in place, adding that airlines that failed to meet the refund timelines outlined in the NCAA Regulations 2023 would face sanctions