By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The Abia State Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers Association, Ecumi Plaza Aba, has described the over three months closure of their businesses by the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, as a bitter and costly experience hard to forget.
The Source reports that NAFDAC had, early February, 2025, cracked down on some patent medicine dealers in the South East region, especially in Onitsha and Aba Markets.
During the operations which provoked widespread indignation and condemnations among the people, the Onitsha Medicine Market and the popular Ecumi Medicine Market, Aba, were shutdown between February and April 2025.
This was in addition to the regulatory agency carting away large quantity of drugs which it considered fake and substandard from the two markets.
Relieving their ordeal in an interview with this medium on Friday, August, 28, 2025, the President of the Association, Chima Amadi said the traders are still reeling from the debilitating effects of NAFDAC’S clampdown. He said most of them lost their lifetime investments.
According to him, the traders recorded over N30 billion in losses as a result of the operations and subsequent closure of the market.
Amadi noted that during the exercise, NAFDAC seized and took away both substandard and original pharmaceutical products from many traders, a development which he noted, has crippled many of the affected dealers.
According to Amadi, while some affected ones are facing shock-induced health challenges, others have closed shops and relocated to the village.
He informed that some who are managing to operate are presently struggling to pay back loan facilities and other indebtedness.
“To be frank with you, we never experienced even one quarter of what happened to us during the tenure of late Prof Dora Akunyili.
“The experience at the hands of NAFDAC was too bitter, and it will be difficult to forget.
“You will recall that early February this year NAFDAC invaded Ecumi Plaza Aba. When they came, we, the leadership, cooperated with them fully.
“This was because we don’t tolerate illegal activities among our members. In fact, even NAFDAC’s operation, we established a task force that monitored the activities of our members in the market with a view to tracking fake, counterfeit and expired drugs.
“But when NAFDAC came, after seizing identified substandard items, they proceeded to carting away original pharmaceutical products so much that a lot of innocent people were affected.
“Although it is difficult to precisely quantify the loss, but suffice it to say that our members lost over N30 billion both to the NAFDAC invasion and subsequent closure of our shops and market for three months.
“When you add the losses incurred during the over three months closure of the market, it is unquantifiable.
“At this juncture, I want to reinstate our complete aversion to our members dealing on expired and substandard products.
“Like I said earlier, we have an internal mechanism as a body for the monitoring of the activities of members.
“So, we are not in any way opposed to NAFDAC doing their job.
“But the way and manner the February operation was carried our left much to be desired. NAFDAC could not draw a line between offenders and innocent traders .
“And the result was the monumental loss recorded by many innocent traders.
“As I am talking to you now ,many of our members are still suffering shock-induced health challenges; some have closed shops and gone back to the village while some whose shops are open are battling with how to pay bank loans and other indebtedness.
“I don’t think we would wish our worst enemies what happened to us at the hands of NAFDAC between February and April 2025”, Amadi lamented.
Amadi, therefore, called on the Abia State Government and all other relevant authorities to come to the aid of the traders, most of whom he fears may not be able to recover from the effects of their experiences if there is no urgent intervention.
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