Mary Remmy Njoku Tells NAFDAC Chief to Stop Shifting Blame, Focus on Enforcement

Nollywood actress and producer Mary Remmy Njoku has taken aim at the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, calling on her to cease making excuses and instead concentrate on safeguarding public health through enforcement. The dispute arose amid the distribution of fake and inferior food items in Nigeria. In her comments, Prof. Adeyeye said a large number of Nigerians "do not read" product labels and are "ignorant" about what the agency is constitutionally required to do. Adeyeye maintained that NAFDAC does not have the mandate to oversee raw, fresh foods sold in markets, saying that responsibility belongs to the Ministry of Agriculture. She went on to explain that the agency's authority is limited to processed and semi-processed food products. In response to the Director-General's statements on social media, Njoku dismissed the idea that a lack of consumer knowledge is the primary reason for the country's counterfeit food problem. "This isn't about whether Nigerians read labels. This is about whether the regulator is regulating," Njoku said. She also said citizens "cannot read their way out of weak inspection, inadequate testing, and poor enforcement," and called on NAFDAC's leadership to make public health protection its priority rather than blaming the public.