The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, yesterday, said the agency had received more than 40 applications on rapid testing kits, out of which 15 have been approved.
She, however, said the agency was yet to receive the Madagascar herbal remedy for COVID-19 from the presidency, noting that once it gets it, the agency would expedite action on it to ensure that the health of the users is safeguarded.
Adeyeye, who was a guest at the ARISE NEWS TV channel, said: “We have to go through stringent scrutiny to ensure that whatever is coming to the country, will be safe and dependable. The remedy from Madagascar, we have not received it, but as soon as we receive it, we will expedite action because this is important to us; herbal medicine is more complex than the orthodox drug, because there may be eight or 10 chemical components that are active. The way nature has done it is that they work in concert, so you can’t just take one out and say it is going to work.”
Adeyeye restated that the agency had not approved the use of Chloroquine for the treatment of the dreaded virus. She said the agency only gave the go-ahead for clinical treatment. She added that it was important for Nigerians to know the difference between routine and clinical treatment, noting that the two should not be mixed.
“Chloroquine has not been approved for routine use in the treatment of COVID-19. We only approved it for clinical treatment, not for routine treatment. There is a difference between routine use and clinical treatment,” she said.
Speaking on the herbal mixture discovered by the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, NAFDAC boss said the agency was still expecting the application of Iwu with regards to finding a herbal cure for the virus. “Prof Iwu is a member of one of our committees. We have not received any application from him. Maybe he’s still working on it.”
“NAFDAC is a regulating agency, affiliated with others around the world. We welcome all submissions but it would have to follow a process; it must go through laid down protocols. We have to ensure it follows safety measures. We have to do an analysis and clinical trial of all the products. Those herbal drugs must be well scrutinised and be believable. Data do not lie.”
