More Nigerians have continued to express concern over the proliferation of counterfeit drugs, drinks, food items and other products in the country.

They want relevant authorities to initiate a comprehensive national inquiry into the issue and quickly reverse the trend to prevent worsening health situations and other implications.

LEADERSHIP Data Mining Department’s findings revealed that substandard drugs are responsible for the annual deaths of 500,000 individuals in sub-Sahara Africa. The report also highlights that, approximately, 267,000 deaths annually are attributed to counterfeit and substandard anti-malarial medications.

A substantial number of individuals have taken to online platforms to urge the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) to conduct an investigation and enunciate effective measures to address the escalating presence of counterfeit products in the Nigerian market.

Business owner at the popular Utako market in Abuja, Ugochukwu Henry, said the report had affected businesses, but it had not stopped people from buying products in the market.

A customer at the market, Ruth Ode, said the current economic situation in the country is responsible for the menace.

A health expert said there’s a need to clamp down further on the people involved as it may lead to an epidemic.

Experts told LEADERSHIP’s data miners that the surge of counterfeit and substandard goods in numerous Nigerian markets, along with their consumption, is a contributing factor to the rising death toll in the country.

They say the prevalence of fake drugs is   an assault on the country’s healthcare industry, asserting that it results in the loss of lives and undermines confidence in medicines, healthcare providers, and in the entire health system.

Most Common Fake Food Products In Nigeria

Findings showed that the most common fake food products in Nigeria include counterfeit and adulterated drugs, fake rice, adulterated vegetable oil, fake alcoholic beverages and expired and substandard food products.

These products do not always meet safety and quality standards, posing risks to consumers.

Just last month, numerous counterfeit products were uncovered at Ezukwu Market (Cemetery Market) in Aba, Abia State, by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

This has triggered reactions from stakeholders in the health sector.

NAFDAC’s intervention led to the confiscation of approximately 2000 adulterated products, including alcoholic drinks, beverages, and other expired items. This action resulted in the closure of more than 240 shops that were functioning as factories, producing, repackaging, and marketing fake products in unhygienic conditions, according to a statement from the food agency.

The director-general of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, put the street value of the confiscated and destroyed fake products at over N750 million. At the end of the week-long security sweep, 10 suspects were arrested, and the agency shut down the market.

LEADERSHIP Friday reports that the consumption of fake foods has far-reaching health implications.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported that 4.7 percent of overall cancer cases in Nigeria in 2019 was attributable to the consumption of adulterated alcohol.

A quality assurance analyst with a pharmaceutical company in Nigeria, Adekunle Ilori, who defined fake products as counterfeits bearing a striking resemblance to the original or quality products but with deviations in the manufacturing process, said that in the face of a weakened health system, economic challenges, and factors such as cash scarcity, rising transport fares, and low purchasing power, fake products are exacerbating the difficulties faced by many Nigerians.

Ilori urged NAFDAC to adopt more proactive measures in combating fake and substandard products.

He told the food and drug control agency to be uncompromising in its fight against fake products, increase its surveillance, publicly disclose the names of fake products, and engage in public sensitisation.

Following the confiscation of adulterated products in Aba, concerns about fake drugs, cosmetics, and other household items resurfaced on various social media platforms, with fake drugs being highlighted as the swiftest path to death among substandard products.

A Lagos-based pharmacist, Yemi Alabi, lamented that the peddlers of counterfeit products exhibit a high level of adaptability, engaging in large-scale production of fake replicas across a spectrum of items, spanning food products to pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

Recently, NAFDAC chief executive, Adeyeye, issued a public warning, particularly to healthcare providers, about a batch of counterfeit Meronem, a one-gramme antibiotic used in treating skin and abdominal infections, flooding the markets and posing a significant risk to patients.

Alabi, however, urged that both NAFDAC and its counterpart, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), should be  adequately equipped with manpower, resources, and funding to effectively combat the inflow of counterfeit and substandard products, both from abroad and from local counterfeiters.

Effects Of Fake Foods On Economy

Beyond the health risks, counterfeit products also cause adverse economic effects.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimates suggests that Nigeria loses approximately N200 billion annually due to counterfeit medicines, excluding substandard drugs.

According to a non-governmental organisation, HealthWise International, quantifying the precise economic implications is challenging; the production and distribution of fake foods can have numerous adverse effects at both macroeconomic and microeconomic levels which include: healthcare expenditure, productivity decline, reputation damage, erosion of consumer trust, agricultural productivity, trade barriers, resource diversion, rising regulatory costs, impact on small businesses, and social and economic disparities among others.

A report by HealthWise states: “The counterfeit food industry is already estimated to generate $49 billion annual revenue; any product you think you bought from a reputable and trustworthy outlet can be one of those adding to the $49 billion revenue streams.”

“A large study, involving almost 20,000 adults, found that eating more than four servings of processed food daily was linked with an increased risk of all-cause mortality. For each additional serving, all-cause mortality risk increased by 18 percent.

“Another large study, involving more than 100,000 adults, found that eating 10 percent more ultra-processed foods was associated with above 10 percent increase in the risks of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disorders.

“Indeed, there is no way to know to what extent food fraud is contributing to stunting, which affects 34 percent of under-five African children, with lifelong impacts on physical and intellectual development.”

Tips To Identify Potential Fake Food Products

Pharmacare, an advocacy group on genuine drugs, has listed tips to help Nigerians identify potential fake food products.

1. Check labels and packaging. Look for spelling errors, unusual fonts, or poor print quality on labels. Examine packaging for signs of tampering, such as broken seals or unusual openings. Verify that the packaging information matches the product inside. Check for proper seals and packaging. Authentic products usually have proper seals and packaging. Be wary of products with broken or damaged seals. Look for holograms, barcodes, and other security features that are typically present on genuine products.
2. Verify brand authenticity. Purchase food products from reputable and well-known brands and retailers. Check the official website of the brand for information on authorised distributors and retailers.

iii. Pay attention to price: be skeptical of food products that are priced significantly lower than the market average. Extremely low prices may indicate a counterfeit or adulterated product.

iv: Check the physical characteristics. Examine the colour, texture, and overall appearance of the food product. Any unusual or off-putting characteristics may be a sign of adulteration. For example, check for unusual discoloration or an abnormal texture in fruits, vegetables, or meats.

1. Verify Expiry Dates.

vi.Use Your Senses. Trust your senses—smell, taste, and appearance. If a food product looks, smells, or tastes unusual, it’s best to avoid it. Be cautious of strong chemical or off-putting odors. Purchase from reputable retailers.

Strategies To Combat Menace

Experts have urged the government to strengthen regulatory framework, increase inspections and surveillance, collaborate with industry stakeholders; launch public awareness campaigns to educate consumers about the risks associated with fake foods and how to identify them; improve traceability and labelling.

The government should also invest in food testing laboratories, by strengthening the capacity of food testing laboratories to enable quick and accurate analysis of food samples, among others.

Medical expert, Dr Mohammed Badru, told LEADERSHIP that addressing fake food production requires coordinated efforts from various sectors, including government agencies, industry players, and the public. He also said that regular evaluation and adjustments to strategies, as well as continuous monitoring and enforcement, are essential to maintaining the effectiveness of these measures over time.

• Customs: We are merely obeying CBN’s directive
• 50kg bag of rice may cost N100,000, says CPPE
• Customs under pressure to meet N5 trillion target, say stakeholders 

The adoption of the spot foreign exchange (FX) rate in computing duty on imported commodities has thrown importers and the entire business community into a panic mode.

For the first time, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) raised the import duty exchange twice within 24 hours on Friday under the guise of “obeying” the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive. The unusual adjustment raised the going duties across commodity lines by 48.5 per cent in less than two days.

Recall that NCS adjusted the rate from N951.94/$ to N1356.8/$ on Friday. While the market was yet to fully digest the decision, it was raised further by over four per cent on Saturday, to the current N1,413.6 to a dollar.

In a swift response, the NCS said the service is simply adhering to the official market as directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came into office, the import duty determination rate has been increased by 235 per cent. It stood at N422.3/$ as of May 29, 2023, when the administration was inaugurated.

With the liberalisation of the FX market, naira saw a sharp depreciation last June, forcing NCS to also adjust the rate used for duty assessment. Since then, the Customs rate mimics the spot segment of the FX market, explaining it is not a decision it has control over.

The service has ignored calls for the adoption of the average rate as opposed to the spot rate. Those who have advocated average rate adoption have argued that the option would make more sense for the predictability and stability of prices.

With spot rate adoption, the Customs has left importers guessing what the next day’s duty could be – a situation economists said could worsen the inflation, increase the cost of living and raise the poverty index.

The fresh increase has already triggered a negative response in the prices of goods, including staple food. At the weekend, The Guardian learnt, the prices of many imported items were hurriedly adjusted. A list of cosmetics items sighted by our correspondent added about 18 to 25 per cent across the prices.

Some products that sold for N2,200 per unit were adjusted to N2,600, while the dealer explained that he would pay more to clear his goods, hence he had to make provision for the upward movement of the replacement cost.

There are fears that the prices of rice, a staple food consumed by many Nigerian households, could see a further sharp rise in the coming days following the increase.

As at last May, a bag of 50 kilogramme of rice sold for about N38 but soared by close to 100 per cent to N70,000 at the close of the year, following the hike in prices of fuel and importation. Traders said Nigeria should expect the essential item to hit N100,000 sooner than expected as the rising cost of import feeds into general prices.

An average Nigerian faces tough times in the face of the rising cost of importation. Last year, as in the case of previous ones, the five top imports by value were motor spirit, gas oil, wheat, sugar and used vehicles. Whereas naira depreciation means the subsidy cover for the motor spirit would expand drastically, Nigerians would face the direct consequence of spending more on wheat, sugar and used vehicle purchases.

Already, prices of vehicles have hit the roof with the cheapest cars (1990s sedans) selling for between N3.5 million and N4.5 million even before last week’s duty review. The least cost of clearing, as at the weekend, according to information sourced from clearing agents, was N2.4 million. A car dealer told The Guardian yesterday that he had increased asking prices of the vehicles at his shop on Saturday following the announcement of the new duty.

Last year, the value of used vehicles, which accounted for 1.64 per cent of the total import, was N135.82 billion. As duties went up last year, the number of cleared vehicles dipped by 32 per cent to 132,296 units, leaving thousands of units at the ports accumulating demurrages. This suggests that the government would need to find a way to manage rising abandoned vehicles this year even as duty cost doubles or triples.

imported used car

The Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for The Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, said the drastic upward review of the exchange rate for the computation of import duties would further fuel inflation as production and operating costs escalated.

He said this would have a devastating effect on businesses across sectors, while the vulnerable segments of the population would be impoverished as cost-push inflation gets exacerbated.

Yusuf said businesses are yet to recover from the shocks of the new round of currency devaluation resulting from the sudden unification of the exchange rate, which has driven the official exchange rate to over N1,400/$.

He appealed to the government to reverse this rate hike in the interest of the already-impoverished segments of society and the numerous businesses that are on the verge of collapse.

Yusuf recommended that going forward, the determination of the exchange rate for import duty computation should be treated as a major fiscal policy matter and located within the remit of the fiscal authority which is the finance ministry.

Professor Sheriffdeen Tella, an economist, said that raising custom duties on luxury and finished products is key for higher economic growth and job creation to reduce current unemployment for the people. However, he argued that while Customs needs to raise its revenue base, such an action must not be at the expense of Nigerians.

Director, Obsidian Archenar Nigeria, Kelvin Emmanuel, said the NCS is simply complying with the policy direction of the CBN.

His argument: “Before now, Nigeria was operating a peg system, which is a term for the fixed exchange rate. That is why the rates were able to stay stable for a long period. Now, with naira floated, the NCS can no longer maintain fixed figures.”

While he agreed that frequent changes in the import duties would destabilise the business community and make planning almost impossible, he submitted that the federal government can generate massive revenue from the new system.

“As desirable as having stability in the import duties sounds, I do not think that will be done immediately. The Federal Government will generate huge revenue, but the cost of importation will rise. Manufacturers will face more hard times. Consumers will face more hard times,” he stressed.

On whether the reduction in import rates for essential commodities and inputs for the manufacturing sector would help, Emmanuel said he does not see that happening any time soon.

“I do not think reducing import duties on these categories of items will lead to a significant reduction in the prices of feedstock and staple food. Once the currency that will be used for the imports is in foreign currency, their prices may not drop significantly,” he said.

Emmanuel argued that the CBN is in a quagmire if it cannot source about $10 billion that is needed to stabilise the FX market.

The factors may likely lead to the prices of rice skyrocketing to more than N100,000 per bag, the National Public Relations Officer of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), Taiwo Fatomilola, said.

He said the costs of transport would spike as car purchases and spare parts would increase. He lamented that the rise in duty exchange rate will kill importation, as importers cannot cope.

He said the country, last year, witnessed a drop in importation, adding that this increase will also have a multiplying effect on every product sold in Nigeria.

Fatomilola said vehicle duties have increased drastically with a single six-tyre 2014 model truck head going for N2.6 million as at Saturday morning. According to him, the hike in the duty exchange rate is caused by the desperation of Customs to meet its N5 trillion target for the year.

Recall that the country witnessed a 32 per cent decrease in the importation of vehicles in 2023. A total of 132,296 units of vehicles were handled during the period, a sharp fall from 194,550 units cleared in 2022.

In his response, the National Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Maiwada, stressed that Customs does not determine the exchange rate, but only implements what is derived by the government.

Naira vs Dollar.

This is the fifth adjustment after the Central Bank started the implementation of a market-led FX rate regime last year. That puts the average review at once a month.

The duty FX rate was adjusted from N422.3/$1 to N589/$1 On June 24 while on July 6, 2023, it was adjusted to N770.88/$1. It went to N783.174/$1 on November 14, 2023. On December 7, 2023, it was adjusted to N951.941/$1.

[Guardian]

The federal government has announced plans to reform the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to make it a revenue-generating agency.

Jamila Bio-Ibrahim, the Minister of Youth Development, made the disclosure while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme.

The minister also explained that the Federal Government was working on reforming the NYSC scheme to reflect the present realities of the nation.

She further explained that they all understand that resources were dwindling, stressing that they would find innovative ways of ensuring that corps members’ welfare is well-taken care of.

According to her, “The reforms will transform the NYSC into a revenue-generating agency and prepare the corps members for the job market and to be decently and gainfully employed or to be employers of labour through entrepreneurship all the support they need in that career path.”

She also disclosed that corps members were no longer posted to states deemed unsafe in the wake of worsening insecurity in the country.

The minister explained that the security of corps members required collaboration with other agencies of government.

[DailyPost]