Barth Ndubuwah, Port Harcourt
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has vowed to clamp down on manufacturers or dealers of bleaching creams in Nigeria.
Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye stated this Monday in Port Harcourt, while flagging off a one-day sensitisation workshop on ‘Dangers of Bleaching Creams.’
Represented by the Director Chemical Evaluation and Research, Dr Leonard Omokpariola, the DG said NAFDAC has concluded arrangements to clamp down on manufacturers and dealers of bleaching cream in Nigeria.
The DG said the programme is therefore to actualise the Agency’s move to curb the menace of bleaching cream across the Country.
She lamented that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had before now labelled Nigerian women as the highest users of bleaching cream across the African continent.
“NAFDAC will after now take strict action to rid the nation of harmful and substandard cosmetic creams,” the DG said.
Also speaking, Director of Public Affairs at the Agency, Dr Abubakar Jimoh said that the programme billed to take place in the six geo-political zones across the Country underscores the importance the Federal Governnment attaches to the health of its citizens.
He corroborated the position of the DG that after this window of grace, NAFDAC will not hesitate to bring to bear the full weight of the law on perpetrators of bleaching cream in the Country.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Ag Zonal Director, South South, Mr Chike Obiano thanked the DG for making the programme possible in the South South and beyond.
He urged the participants to make maximum use of the opportunity offered by the sensitisation workshop, assuring them that the seasoned resource persons will do justice to their respective presentations.
Obiano reiterated that the aim of the workshop was to expose the dangers inherent in the use of bleaching creams.
He expressed confidence that the crop of journalists attending the programme will ensure that the message is fully cascaded to the public.
He urged all the participants to make maximum use of the opportunity offered by the programme.