The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed two chemical firms in Benin, Edo State, for selling chemicals without the necessary licence and safety measures.
The affected outlets, Golden Juliros Nigeria Ltd., located on Evbiemwen Street, Off Wire Road, and Onebamchi Chemicals at Ramat Park market, were sealed on Thursday during an operation carried out by officers from NAFDAC’s Investigation and Enforcement Unit in Asaba, alongside staff from the Edo office in Benin.
NAFDAC’s Edo Coordinator, Esther Itua, explained that the two shops had been under surveillance for years and had ignored repeated advice to register as chemical dealers.
She stated, “One of NAFDAC’s mandates is to monitor and control the manufacture, distribution, sale, advertisement, and use of regulated products, including chemicals.”
She noted that the shops failed to meet the agency’s registration requirements, such as having a registered company in Nigeria, a proper warehouse for storing chemicals, and qualified staff.
Despite the agency’s encouragement to Golden Juliros, which is one of the major chemical dealers in the state, to apply for chemical listing, it continued to operate without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including masks for staff.
The operation, which involved a task force from Asaba, was considered significant due to the scale of the two establishments.