By Princewill Ekwujuru

As part of efforts geared towards ensuring that both consumers and Nigerian manufacturers are protected, Unilever in collaboration with the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) have vowed to reduce counterfeit products in the Nigerian market, as it expends 950 Euro on research work.

The two organizations in a spirited bid met to discuss the fight against counterfeit products when NAFDAC visited Unilever on the invitation of the former.

Topmost on the agenda of the meeting with top management staff of Unilever was the acknowledgement that steady progress has been make in the fight against counterfeiting and fake products, whilst Unilever advised NAFDAC not to rest on its oars.

Speaking, Thabo Mabe, Managing Director of Unilever said that the elimination of counterfeit from the market means protecting corporate intellectual property. According to him, “We will continue to ensure that this is achieved if Nigeria must be competitive, industries have to contribute to regulation efforts to ensure standard.”

Mabe who exposed the NAFDAC officials to the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) policies of the company while on facilities tour said that Unilever products touch every family everyday and therefore “to us doing good is doing business”.

Mabe who said that last year, Unilever international spend about 950 Euros on research work said that the company has been in Nigeria for a long time and “so it is no more transactional business for Unilever, but we are part of this country”

Responding, Paul Orhii, Director General of NAFDAC, appreciated Unilever for inviting them for the meeting. “When companies invite us and not wait for us to knock at their doors, it demonstrates that they are companies that do things right. This is a friendly visit. We are coming here to not to assess your facility and close it down, we are coming here as friend to Unilever and if possible offer solutions on how to do things better”.

He said that NAFDAC has tried to boost its fight against counterfeit. Right now the organization is trying to implement radio frequency identification technology. Unfortunately, for products like yours which are not on the high end in terms of price, it is not feasible to apply the technology because it is not economical.

“We are trying our best to make sure those counterfeit products do not come here to take over market share and destroy Nigerian brands. We will work with you in every possible way to make sure that your business thrives.