By Tony Nwankwo

Director-General, National Agency for Food & Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, has condemned the prevalence of counterfeit and fake drugs in the country, urging the authorities to collaborate with youth corps members and traditional rulers to stem the tide.

He was speaking at an award ceremony organised by the Institute for Government Research & Leadership Technology, under the African Product Forum Lagos 2011. Forever `Aloe2Go’, a product of Forever Living Products (Nigeria) Limited took the `Nigeria’s Best Food Supplement 2011 Award’.

The award winning product, Forever `Aloe2Go’, is one in the range of FLP aloe vera-based food supplements. It is made from pomegranate, the longevity plant that renews the body immunity to fight diseases. Aloe2Go not only energizes, it revitalizes and nourishes the body, keeping it healthy, irrespective of age.

Company sources say Aloe2Go is among its most well received products since its introduction into the Nigerian market in 2009. Aloe2Go is registered by NAFDAC for sales nationwide. The product is however sold by the network of FLP distributors who are independent multilevel marketers under the FLP marketing plan.

FLP Nigeria management said it was happy to receive the award for the Diet Food Supplement 2011 category, and had assured all its distributors and consumers all over Nigeria of the company’s commitment to ensure that only the best food supplements are marketed in Nigeria, consistent with the worldwide standards of Forever Living Products.

This year’s theme of the institute is `African Product Acceptability’. The organisers said neither the company nor product manufacturers were contacted before, during or after the research and analysis that provided data for the select committee on the product quality for the awards.

This award, however, is another in a string of awards for Forever Living Products this year. It follows on the heels of one, three weeks ago, from the trustees, children and missionaries of Little Saints Orphanage, Lagos, in recognition of the company’s consistent support for the orphanage.

In a well attended ceremony at the Sheraton Lagos Hotel & Towers, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, (SAN), said the awards by the Institute was timely as the state looked forward to an industrially developed and disease-free Nigeria.

He recalled that manufacturing had contributed substantially to the growth of the country before oil came and took the centre stage, calling on entrepreneurs to redouble their efforts to put Nigeria back in the world map of manufacturing and production of quality goods.

Speaking on the theme: “Issues in Standardization & Certification”, the immediate past Director-General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, (SON), Dr. John Ndanusa Akanya challenged Nigerian manufactures to produce goods that had quality and could meet international standards.

“We need industrial re-orientation with emphasis on research and development”, he said, adding that Nigeria was so blessed that merely developing and harnessing her natural resources could provide enough for the people. “If we develop our agriculture, we could become large exporters of mushrooms, yams, cocoyams, vegetables and cocoa”, he emphasized.

Dr. Orhii recommended stiffer penalties for couriers and manufacturers of fake and counterfeit drugs, and called on law makers to ensure that victims of such drugs are compensated.

He however revealed that NAFDAC had acquired modern machines and technology that were capable of detecting fake and counterfeit drugs, with some already put to use in some parts of the country.