The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to make the production and circulation of fake, adulterated and substandard food and beverages a national priority.
The House also called on the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to collaborate with the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Customs Service, state governments and other relevant agencies to intensify surveillance and enforcement nationwide.
The resolution followed a motion by the Chairman, House Committee on Police Affairs, Abubakar Makki Yalleman.
Presenting the motion, Yalleman said access to safe and wholesome food and beverages is essential to public health and productivity, noting that compliance with safety standards would reduce food-borne illnesses and enable Nigerian products to compete in regional and international markets.
He cited recent enforcement operations, including NAFDAC’s dismantling of an illegal alcohol counterfeiting syndicate at Zamfara Plaza on Lagos Island on April 22, 2026, and the NSCDC’s raid on an unregistered fruit juice factory in Badagry, Lagos State, on September 22, 2026.
Yalleman expressed concern over the growing production and sale of fake and unregistered food products, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and bottled water.
He said, “Some unscrupulous manufacturers and distributors engage in practices such as counterfeiting established brands, altering labels and expiry dates, using inferior or contaminated raw materials, illegally reusing or refilling containers, and producing outside approved regulatory standards, thereby posing severe public health risks, including acute poisoning, cancer and damage to vital organs like the kidney, lung, liver, heart.”
He noted that while NAFDAC, SON and FCCPC are mandated to regulate and protect consumers, there are growing concerns about products with misleading information on labels, including production dates, expiry dates, batch numbers and ingredients.
The House therefore called for increased inspections, product sampling, laboratory testing and enforcement operations targeting manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers of unsafe products.
It also mandated its relevant committees to assess the scale of the menace and the effectiveness of existing enforcement measures and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
The committees are also expected to conduct periodic reviews of progress made by regulatory agencies.
