The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The agreement is aimed at strengthening collaboration in combating the influx of illicit pharmaceutical products and other harmful substances into Nigeria.

The MOU was signed at the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) conference on Thursday in Abuja.

In his remarks, the NCS comptroller-general, Adewale Adeniyi, described the MoU as the culmination of years of dedicated dialogue and coordination between the two agencies.

“This partnership is a response to a major scourge we are facing in the country, he said.

He said the provisions of the MoU include a comprehensive scope of collaboration, particularly in intelligence sharing, which involves the exchange of intelligence between both agencies.

“Sometimes, at midnight, NAFDAC DG sends intelligence to me, saying, we learn that a suspicious container may be birthing in the morning. This kind of real-time information flow is critical to our joint efforts,” he said.

According to the customs boss, the situation was misjudged when a state of emergency was declared in one of the ports.

He explained that reports indicate that the move was merely a scratch on the surface of illicit pharmaceutical products entering Nigeria’s markets.

“ It is time for all of us to say collectively that this will be the beginning of the end. We are going to save Nigeria and the future of our kids from these dangerous products,” he said.

On her part, NAFDAC’s director-general, Moji Adeyeye, described the move as a significant and necessary step, given the daily impact of the products regulated by her agency on Nigerians.

“ We consume at least two of our regulated products every day—food and healthcare items.

“This partnership is about ensuring that the food, drugs, and healthcare products we take are safe and of the highest quality,” she said.

Ms Adeyeye emphasised the threats posed by unregulated and illicit products to national security, explaining that criminals and terrorists could misuse some approved chemicals.

“We have ghost companies that are not on our lists. This MoU marks the beginning of the end of such practices,” she said.

(NAN)