Katsina Governor wants tramadol banned like codeine

Katsina state governor, Aminu Masari, has called on the federal government to extend its recent ban on codeine to other controlled drugs such as tramadol to stem the rise of drug addiction in the country.

Following the airing of a BBC documentary that exposed how cough syrup with codeine is devastating the lives of Nigerian youths, the federal government announced a ban on the use of codeine as an active agent in the production of cough syrup.

At a workshop centred on the menace of drug abuse in the Daura zone on Thursday, May 10, 2018, Governor Masari, represented by the Secretary to the Katsina State Government, Dr Mustapha Inuwa, urged the federal government to cut off the link between the demand and supply chain of all controlled drugs in the country.

He said, "The state government strongly condemns the activities of drug traffickers in view of their negative consequences of destroying the future of our youths, who are the leaders of tomorrow. I commend the bold and courageous decision of the Federal Government by banning recently the local production and importation of codeine as addictive cough syrup, which is consistently abused.

"I urge the Federal Government to also take urgent steps to extend the ban to tramadol and other controlled drugs with a view to cutting off the link between the demand and supply chain.

"On its part, the state government is, therefore, up and doing in bringing about opportunities that will enable our youths to be self-employed and improve on their economic well-being."

NAFDAC cracks down on codeine

Fallout from the BBC documentary has also spurred the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to shut down production sites of three pharmaceutical companies in the country due to their inability to provide required documents during the inspection of their facilities.

Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, Peace Standard Pharmaceutical Limited and Bioraj Pharmaceutical Limited were all implicated in report as senior employees of the companies were filmed illegaly selling cough syrups to undercover reporters with the intention of selling to school students.

According to NAFDAC's Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the reopening of the companies will depend on the level of cooperation that is shown during a comprehensive investigation conducted by the agency.