Politics
THE News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday sought for the review and deepening of its relationship with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The Managing Director of NAN, Ali Muhammad Ali said this in Abuja during a countesy visit to the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye.
Ali appreciated the good works that NAFDAC was doing in the area of safeguarding the health of the nation.
He said that NAFDAC had moved high in savaging the country of fake drugs, adding that the agency was lucky to have Adeyeye at the helm of its affairs.
“One of the reasons why we are here is to appreciate the cooperation we have had in the last couple of years, we have several news inputs that NAFDAC can benefit to further project the agency’s image.
“We want to expand our relationship with you, we want to assure you of our unflinching support, and we appreciate you and your management team.
“You can see the level the agency has gone in savaging the country of fake drugs. NAFDAC is lucky to have Prof. Adeyeye. I envy you for the work you do. I congratulate you and your management team for doing your work diligently.
“We at NAN pride ourselves as first with the news, once you talk to NAN you have talked to the whole community.
“We are the biggest news agency in Africa; we have 10 foreign offices, I returned this morning from my engagement with sister agency, NAN was the subject of discussion.
“People take Nigeria seriously especially NAFDAC, we report NAFDAC to the world; we have several subscribers, other agencies relied on NAN for authentic stories, real news and this is why we need to expand our relationship,’’ Ali said.
Also, Mr Ephraim Sheyin, NAN Editor-In-Chief, reiterated the need why the contract between the two agencies ought to be renewed, adding that NAN was having limited products as at the time NAFDAC signed a contract with it.
According to Sheyin, NAN is having a lot of products on board at the moment, and that the news agency will focus on providing more services to NAFDAC.
In her response, Adeyeye appreciated the power of the fourth estate of the realm, saying that it was crucial going by the primary function of NAFDAC, especially in drug and food regulation.
She said that NAN as a government media organisation made her work easy within the last six year she came onboard as the Director-General of NAFDAC, while appreciating the visit by the media organisation.
“We had challenges when I got to NAFDAC six years ago, I know the power of publicity, there was no money to published when I got here, NAN made my work easier because it was the only platform we could afford, we could have done more but we needed to pay other debt.
“I appreciated NAN in my first term, the power of the fourth estate is crucial to what we are doing, unfortunately social media is full of fake news, NAN as a government agency made it easier for us. I want to say thank you for the visit.
“When I started my second term, one of the things I know we will increase is publicity because we keep so much information working as a regulatory agency, we will keep working with NAN,’’ Adeyeye said.
Other directors of the agency y also lauded NAN, saying that the news organisation has been a tremendous assistant to NAFDAC in states where it has offices. (NAN)
T.S
-January 25, 2024 @ 20:08 GMT|
Tags: Ali Muhammad Ali Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye
