The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Tuesday sensitized producers and marketers of its new online products and company registrations.
The Oyo State Coordinator, NAFDAC, Matthew Adeoye, said during a stakeholders’ meeting in Ibadan that the NAFDAC Automated Products Administration and Monitoring System (NAPAMS) offered a significant reduction in the timeline for registration.
Adeoye said that the online registration was part of the agency’s efforts to facilitate faster processes and remove bottlenecks associated with travelling for follow-ups.
“NAPAMS provides a medium for the application for product registration with NAFDAC and data capture of all existing and current products it has approved.
“It also offers stage-by-stage status feedback to applicants regarding updates on the application.
“The process is so seamless that an applicant can monitor (online) all the processes, from registration to payment to the status and stages of a registered product, in the applicant’s zone due to decentralization,” he said.
Also, Mrs. Roseline Ajayi, Director, NAFDAC South West Zonal Office, Ibadan, said the meeting sought to interact and update the stakeholders on the direction of the agency and to clarify issues with navigating the portal.
Ajayi said that product quality, safety, and wholesomeness must not be neglected due to the country’s current economic crises.
“We are all witnesses to the current economic crisis and the consequential threats to business stability.
“While this experience has become a serious concern, the quality, safety, and wholesomeness of regulated products cannot be negotiated,” she said.
Ajayi said that the agency would ensure continuous engagement with stakeholders, as it recognized the need for interaction with the different stakeholders at all levels, either national, state, or grass-roots.
“Today, our focus is on the water and bakery sectors. These sectors constitute the highest number of the agency’s stakeholders, and their members are engaged in the provision of the basic needs of life.
“Water and bread are two household commodities that are essential for life; hence, they are not sectors to ignore.
“The agency’s mandate, as detailed in the enabling law, is to regulate and control all activities, including importation, production, advertisement, distribution, sales, and use of regulated products.
“This is why we all have a common interest in ensuring that both the regulator and the regulated have an understanding of the dynamics of the regulatory environment,” she said.
Responding, Mr. Oladejo Adegboyega, the Chairman, Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP), Oyo State Chapter, expressed the stakeholders’ readiness to support the agency in its quest to ensure the production, supply, and distribution of quality products in Nigeria.
