A popular supermarket in Ibadan, Pinnacle Groceries and Cosmetics, shut down on April 3, 2024 by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control will soon be reopened, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
NAFDAC South-West Zonal Director, Roseline Ajayi, made this known to NAN on Monday in the Oyo State capital.
She said 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.
She said: “The closure had to do with a product that was registered by NAFDAC, but whose 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.”
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.
She added: “The re-opening can be any moment from now.
“As soon as it is officially documented, we will do so.”
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.
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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.