Some traders at the Onitsha Drug Market, popularly called Ogbo-Ogwu Bridgehead Market, Onitsha, Anambra State, under the aegis of ‘Concerned and Genuine Members of Ogbo-Ogwu Market and Justice for Ogbo-Ogwu’, have dismissed the claims that another stock of fake drugs worth over N265millon was discovered in the market.

The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the market, Chukwuleta Ndubuisi, had last week claimed that he handed over N265m worth of fake drugs from the market to the Enugu Zonal office of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control.

Ndubuisi said some of the goods were seized in 2024 while others were confiscated after a three-month raid of the market in 2025.

But reacting to the claims in a press briefing, in Onitsha on Tuesday, the Coordinator, Concerned and Genuine Members of Ogbo-Ogwu Market and Justice for Ogbo-Ogwu, Emmanuel Ozoemena, insisted that the said products were not “fake”, but expired products voluntarily handed over by the traders concerned.

Ozoemena, flanked by other members and traders of the body, said the clarification became necessary so as to correct the “malicious misconceptions and misinformation” being peddled by the caretaker committee chairman, whom he accused of using the allegation of “fake” drugs to score cheap political points before NAFDAC.

While urging the public especially, their potential customers to disregard the claims, the group warned the Ogbo-Ogwu Market leadership to desist from playing politics with people’s lives.

The group challenged the caretaker committee chairman to provide evidence that the products were “fake”, threatening to sue him, if he fails to show evidence within a giving period of two working weeks.

Ozoemenam appealed to the Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to dissolve the caretaker committee of the market and conduct an election to save traders from the “autocratic leadership” of current leadership led by Chukwuleta Ndubuisi.

He accused Ndubuisi of using NAFDAC officials and the Anambra State-owned security operatives to intimate and harass members of the market, lamenting that the development has resulted to low patronage in the market.

He said, “As I speak to you now, we have lost over 60 per cent of our esteemed customers to other major drug markets in the country (Aba, Lagos and Kano).

“Our customers are running away to other major drug markets because of a selfish and wicked leadership.

“What we are speechlessly experiencing today in this market that has been in existence for the past 36 years is horrible under the caretaker committee leadership of Chukwuleta Ndubuisi, who is always boasting about to be the brother of Governor Soludo.

“His motive behind all this is to attract cheap popularity from the public to enable the governor make him a lifetime chairman of Ogbo-Ogwu Market. He is playing politics with people’s lives.

“Some days ago, he went to the media and said he handed over N265 million worth of ‘fake’ drugs to NAFDAC. But that was not true. The drugs were actually expired drugs willingly submitted to NAFDAC through our union office for proper disposal, not ‘fake or counterfeit’ drugs as alleged. Those drugs were being paid huge amount of money before submitting to NAFDAC for disposal.

“We are tired of being under his leadership. He has turned the market upside-down. We are appealing to the state governor, Chukwuma Soludo to help us dissolved the caretaker committee and conduct an election that would have elective officers with administrative experience.”

Also speaking, the Chairman of the group, Chibueze Ifejiofor said that there was no truth in what Ndubuisi told the world concerning the drugs he handed over to NAFDAC.

“I was a member of the caretaker committee but I resigned because of Ndubuisi’s attitudes. The drugs which he claimed that was fake have been surrendered for disposal. Those drugs were expired and were submitted to the office by the companies and distributors for NAFDAC to come and carry them and dispose by themselves.”

Equally speaking, the Vice Chairman of the group, Ekezie Ugochukwu queried why the caretaker committee chairman could not name one or two persons or even a particular shop he found fake drugs and counterfeits in the market.

“The reason of submitting the drugs to NAFDAC through the union office is because someone may be attempting to dispose away the expired drugs and might be caught up by Police or NAFDAC. So, it is always better to submit them to union so that NAFDAC would carry them. It has been an annual exercise in anywhere drugs are being sold,” Ekezie added.

However, when contacted on the development on Tuesday, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the market, Ndubuisi, insisted that what he handed over to NAFDAC were fake drugs worth N265 million. (The PUNCH)

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