THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has condemned the destruction of sachet water in Lagos State as seen in a viral video.
The agency also refuted claims by the Lagos State Government linking its officials to the incident.
In a statement on Sunday, December 1, NAFDAC said the people seen in the video, bursting sachet water packs in factories and on buses, were not part of its enforcement team.
The agency described the actions as ‘unprofessional’ and inconsistent with its standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“The videos circulating of individuals engaging in enforcement activities are not NAFDAC officials or part of our investigation and enforcement team.
“Furthermore, stopping vehicles to destroy products is unprofessional and does not align with any NAFDAC standard operating procedure,” the statement read.
The NAFDAC urged the public to verify enforcement activities through its official communication channels and reiterated its commitment to professional regulatory practices.
The ICIR reports that a viral video showed a man in plain clothes along the roadside bursting bags of sachet water stacked in a truck.
Reacting to this, the Lagos State Government, through its commissioner for environment and water resources, Tokunbo Wahab, alleged that the persons seen in the video were enforcement officers from NAFDAC.
Wahab stated that the actions were part of a regulatory exercise targeting sachet water that failed to comply with NAFDAC standards.
“Upon investigation, it was confirmed that the individuals in question are enforcement officers from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Their actions are part of an enforcement exercise targeting sachet water that does not comply with NAFDAC regulations and in the interest of public health and safety.”
Wahab said the Lagos State Government had no involvement in the enforcement exercise, adding that the state had not banned sachet water nor planned to do so.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M