Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has closed the social account of its Director General, Prof Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye due to alleged the activities of fraudulent individuals impersonating her on Facebook and Linkedin.
It further warned Nigerians and the general public against the use or circulation of four blacklisted substandard cough syrups. The are: Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.
Adeyeye, who addressed journalists at the headquarters of the agency yesterday in Abuja, said: “The attention of NAFDAC has been drawn to the activities of some impostors and fraudulent individuals impersonating the DG via her social media accounts, Facebook and Linkedin.”
She said the impostors were asking for money in exchange for employment and other favours.
“This is a security breach. NAFDAC and the DG will never request for gratification to carry out its mandate. As a result of this the social media account of the DG will no longer be in use until further notice.
“Members of the public are hereby advised to exercise due caution and report any such activity to EFCC (+2348093322644) or Department of State Services (+2349153391309) in Nigeria. For International, call UK Interpol (+44 797 115 3192) or US Federal Bureau of Investigation (+1-800-225-5324),” she said.
Speaking on efforts to prevent circulation of killer baby cough syrup spotted in Gambia, Adeyeye said the agency is apprehensive that the offensive syrup may have been distributed through informal markets to other countries or regions apart from Gambia.
She explained that poor quality control might have led to non-detection of these dangerous by products and hence the
fatality that it has caused in the Gambia.
Adeyeye urged members of the public in possession of the blacklisted products to discontinue sale or use and to submit stock to the nearest NAFDAC office.
“That is why we have heightened our vigilance. NAFDAC implores importers, distributors, retailers and consumers and stakeholders to exercise caution and vigilance within the supply chain to avoid the importation, distribution, sale, and use of the substandard cough syrups,” she said.
