The Director
General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii,
told newsmen, a few days ago, in a telephone chat: “I
met with them before I travelled. We are waiting for them to come up with the
payment. They have to review all the warehousing process. We are going to get
very stringent with the industry going forward. You know that Nigerian foods
are being rejected internationally and it is the same food that we eat here. We
have made progress in sanitising the pharmaceutical and drug industry. We are
equally going hard on food and drink industry. This sanction is just the
beginning especially the big companies that think they are above the law. We
have placed their products on hold. So it is left for them to comply.”
But the Managing
Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr.
Peter Ndegwa, in a statement made available to newsmen, reaffirmed that the
company is very positive that on account of its ongoing engagement with NAFDAC,
the issues will be clarified and resolved in a short while.
The Corporate
Relations Director of Guinness, Mr. Sesan
Sobowale, acknowledged the receipt of a letter from NAFDAC. He said the
alleged infractions relate to a rented off-site warehouse where raw materials
are stored; explaining that the said raw materials store is not a production
facility and that the quality of its products was never in issue. NAFDAC hit
Guinness with a fine of N1 billion for “its failure to adhere to the recommended
good manufacturing practice procedures.”
This is
coming on the heels of a similar incident where the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) issued a landmark fine of
N1.04 trillion ($5.2 billion) against MTN Nigeria, the largest mobile network
operator in the country, for failing to disconnect subscribers with
unregistered and incomplete subscriber identification modules (SIM) cards
within the stipulated time.
A source
from the Enforcement Department of the agency, who pleaded anonymity, said that
the agency conducted a routine check on the company’s factory in Ikeja, Lagos
on November 5, 2015, and “shocking” revelations were made.
The NAFDAC
team reportedly had unsatisfactory appraisals about how some of the materials
used in the production processes were being handled. Also, the team that
visited Guinness was worried about the manner in which the raw materials used
in the factory were stored.
The source
said: “The unhygienic storage condition of the raw
materials was a major source of worry for the agency. Our team visited Guinness
and the reported findings were true. The agency is, however, going to make a
public statement to this effect at the appropriate time, as the management is
still studying the reports submitted by the team.” (guardian)
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