NAFDAC Disputes Role in Sachet Water Destruction, Refutes Lagos Government’s Claim

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has denied claims that its officials were involved in destroying sachet water captured in a viral video circulating online.

The videos circulating of individuals engaging in enforcement activities are NOT NAFDAC officials or part of our Investigation & Enforcement team. Furthermore, stopping vehicles to destroy products is unprofessional and does not align with any NAFDAC Standard Operating Procedure, the agency clarified in an X post on Sunday.

The clarification follows comments by Lagos State’s Commissioner for the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, who claimed the individuals in the video were NAFDAC enforcement officers.

Distancing the Lagos State officials from the incident, Wahab had suggested the actions were part of NAFDAC’s exercise targeting non-compliant sachet water for public health and safety reasons.

I wish to categorically state that these individuals are not enforcement officers from any Lagos State Government agency or the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.

Upon investigation, it was confirmed that the individuals in question are enforcement officers from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Their actions are part of an enforcement exercise targeting sachet water that does not comply with NAFDAC regulations, and in the interest public health and safety, Wahab claimed.

NAFDAC did not waste time denying these claims by the government, stating that stopping vehicles from destroying products is unprofessional and does not align with its standard of operation.

Meanwhile, it will be recalled that the Lagos State Government vowed to ban single-use plastics and Styrofoam from January 2025. The Lagos state government also clarified that the ban would not include sachet water, polyethene terephthalate (PET) bottles, and carrier bags.

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