By Olanrewaju Akojede
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says that the public does not need any consultant or middlemen to obtain its licence for operations.
Its Deputy Director on Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Mr Godwin Akwa, disclosed this on Friday to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He spoke on the second day of the ongoing 2nd edition of the International Drink Festival held at the Balmoral Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
NAN reports that the festival, packaged by the Balmoral Group, started on Nov. 29 and would end on Sunday, Dec. 2.
Akwa said that NAFDAC had key-in into the policy of the government on the “Ease of doing business’’ which had expedited its registration processes.
“It is true NAFDAC is not against those that want to engage consultants, we are just calling on the entrepreneurs to deal directly with us because our doors are widely open.
“It is not a requirement from NAFDAC that those seeking registrations must go through consultancy at an extra fee; anyone can apply directly to us for licence.
“We are open to all entrepreneurs, manufacturers, traders, importers and those who have one thing or the other to do with food.
“We have opened our doors wide through our support desks.
“The Director-General (DG) of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye’s priority now is how we can improve on the registration through the Help Desk created to service our customers free of charge,’’ he said.
Akwa said that the help desks created by NAFDAC were responsible for giving out technical supports and simplifying the processes of registration.
“The main project embarked upon by
the DG of NAFDAC is to give technical assistance to potential investors on how they can go about their businesses and also register with us.
“There are no bottlenecks now because the structure is already in place. The timeline of registration with NAFDAC has greatly reduced now through the use of technology.’’
He said that above all, NAFDAC was not going to compromise on safety standards in its service to the public.
“We are to ensure safety of lives and property. We will always checkmate goods that are not worthy of the Nigerian market,’’ he said. (NAN)
