The popular Ibadan supermarket, Pinnacle Groceries and Cosmetics, shut down on April 3 by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) will soon be re-opened, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
NAFDAC South-West Zonal Director, Mrs Roseline Ajayi, told NAN on Monday in Ibadan that the issue had been resolved at the Lagos office of the agency.
Ajayi said that the Ibadan office was only waiting for an official document from Lagos before reopening the place.
She said that the supermarket was shut down when its management refused to respond to the invitation by the agency’s Lagos office for further investigations on some of its products being put up for sale.
“The closure had to do with a product that was registered by NAFDAC, but which its unregistered version were seen in some supermarkets in Oyo State in January when the investigation and enforcement directorate of NAFDAC visited from Lagos.
“Seeing the unregistered versions of this product indicated parallel importation, meaning that somebody else who has not yet registered with us is importing it. So we can’t determine the quality and source of the product.
“The essence of the registration is for us to guarantee the fitness of the product for consumption or usage. So when the investigation team found the unregistered ones in Pinnacle, they had been evacuated from the supermarket since January.
“After that, they invited Pinnacle’s management to Lagos with their documents for verification so that they would be able to trace the source of the product, but they didn’t honour the invitation.
“So after giving them more time and they still didn’t go, the Lagos team now directed us in Ibadan to shut down the place.
“But, after shutting down the supermarket, the supermarket’s management visited our office here but we directed them to go to Lagos where the matter originated,” she explained.
Ajayi, however, stated that the issue had been resolved in Lagos, adding that her office was waiting for an official document before reopening the supermarket.
“The re-opening can be any moment from now. As soon as it is officially documented, we will do so,” she said.
The zonal director, who confirmed that the management of the supermarket was sanctioned over the matter, however, said that she would not disclose the amount paid now.
She also said that the suspected products had been evacuated from the supermarket, urging supermarket owners to always operate in accordance with the NAFDAC guidelines.
Ajayi also enjoined Nigerians to patronise only NAFDAC-registered products, whether imported or local. (NAN)
