By Tobias Ekirika, Onitsha
Onitsha drug market, popularly known as Ogbogwu Market, Bridge Head, Onitsha, has handed over 192 items of substandard and falsified drugs worth N435 million to the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for destruction.
Performing the handover ceremony on Monday, July 6, Mr. Chukwuleta Ndubisi, Caretaker Committee Chairman of the market, said traders wilfully submitted the drugs to the leadership of the market based on their collective understanding to rid the market of substandard and falsified drugs.
He noted that the over 400 cartons of adultrated drugs were gathered between December, 2025 and June, 2026.
He thanked the market taskforce and members of the market executive for supporting him in his efforts to sanitize the market of fakes.
"His words: the primary aim of me being chairman is to sanitize the drug market. I come with revolution, and certain traders feel that I am causing inconveniences to them. That is why they keep attacking me from different sides; even now we are at Enugu but thank God we're winning the battle," he stated.
Speaking on behalf of NAFDAC, Mr. Omoyeni Tunji, Deputy Director in charge of NAFDAC Investigation and Enforcement in the SouthEast and South South regions, expressed appreciation to the market leadership for in synergy with NAFDAC in curbing the society of fake drugs.
He said that the items will be taken to the dump site in Awka for destruction. He commended the leadership of the agency and the federal government for being at the forefront of the fight against falsified and counterfeit drugs all over the country.