–Convicted Aba businessman given ₦5m fine option

By Nick Ibe

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has won the conviction of a businessman in Aba, Abia State, for manufacturing and selling counterfeit Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil, sentencing him to five years’ imprisonment with an option of a ₦5 million fine.

The conviction of Mr Innocent Okoye, Managing Director of Chikason Industrial Nigeria Limited, Aba, followed months of investigation and prosecution, is a remarkable action against food counterfeiting and other substandard products before unsuspecting Nigerian consumers.

Okoye, MD of Chikason Industrial Nigeria Limited, was convicted on two charges relating to the manufacture and sale of counterfeit Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

According to NAFDAC, Justice K. O. Ogundare of the Federal High Court, Umuahia, Abia State, delivered the judgment on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

The case arose from an enforcement operation conducted by the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate in April 2026, during which officials uncovered a facility in Aba allegedly used for the production and distribution of counterfeit Goya oil.

NAFDAC arrested the suspect and forwarded samples of the recovered products to its laboratory for scientific analysis. Consequently, criminal proceedings were taken against Okoye leading to his eventual conviction.

The development comes amid growing concerns over the circulation of fake food products in Nigerian markets, with counterfeiters allegedly exploiting the popularity of established brands.

In January 2026, NAFDAC raised the alarm over counterfeit Goya oil packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles and sold to unsuspecting consumers as genuine imported products.

At a media briefing in Lagos, the agency’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Dr Martins Iluyomade, disclosed that investigators had uncovered an illegal production operation at Oke-Arin Market, Idumota, Lagos.

According to the agency, operators of the facility were allegedly processing palm oil with colouring agents before repackaging the mixture as Goya oil for sale.

Iluyomade explained that genuine Goya oil authorised for sale in Nigeria was imported in original glass bottles through approved distribution channels. He warned consumers to be wary of products bearing the brand name in PET plastic bottles.

Beyond the violation of product standards and intellectual property rights, food counterfeiting raises serious public health concerns because consumers may have no reliable way of determining the quality or safety of the products they purchase.

NAFDAC has urged consumers, traders and religious organisations to verify the sources of products they purchase and exercise caution when confronted with suspicious packaging or unusually presented goods.

The agency also called for the cooperation of manufacturers, distributors, retailers, consumers and law enforcement agencies in fight against counterfeit products, illegal manufacturing facilities.

The conviction though shows NAFDAC’s commitment to intensifying market surveillance, the judgment is a slap on the wrist as it is not painful enough to serve as a deterrent.

By Felix Umande

The National Economic Council, NEC, has endorsed a 90-day economic action plan proposed by the Federal Ministry of Finance to consolidate gains from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms.

The plan focuses on reducing the cost of living, improving food affordability, attracting investment and accelerating delivery of projects with direct benefits to Nigerians.

The endorsement on Thursday followed a presentation by Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, during the Council’s 161st meeting held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The action plan identifies five priority areas: food affordability, tax harmonisation, completion of high-impact projects, resolution of investment bottlenecks and regulated household support.

NEC also approved establishment of a national dashboard to track ongoing projects across the federation, with emphasis on transparency, accountability and accurate reporting of how proceeds from fuel subsidy removal are being utilised.

Presenting the economic outlook, Oyedele expressed optimism about progress under the reform programme and identified reduction of headline inflation and interest rates to single digits by 2027 as key policy objectives, noting that the next phase would require coordinated implementation across federal and state institutions.

Addressing members, Vice President Shettima said while the President’s reform programme was designed to achieve broader prosperity, governments at all levels must translate its objectives into improved living conditions. In his words:

“The first dividend of prosperity should be the confidence to plan a life. Our task is to make such confidence less dependent on fortune.

“Our separate jurisdictions must serve a common public interest. Our separate mandates must not become competing excuses. Each Governor carries knowledge that no federal document can supply.”

Shettima further charged governors to ensure gains translate into affordable transportation, improved healthcare, employment and financial security.

On the National Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, Bus Initiative, he stressed that success should be measured by affordability and accessibility rather than fleet size.

“The cost of reaching
a livelihood should never consume the livelihood itself,” he said.

In other resolutions, NEC reviewed the reported Ebola outbreak in the FCT. Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, assured the Council that Nigeria has capacity to contain it, while acknowledging 21 states that updated their response plans and urging the remaining 15 to expedite preparedness.

The Council also directed states to strengthen polio eradication efforts through post-campaign reviews, timely release of counterpart funds and improved coordination in insecure areas.

On livestock development, Council, after receiving report of its Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Kebbi Governor Nasir Idris, resolved to strengthen federal-state collaboration to unlock the sector’s economic potential.

Council further resolved to establish a joint financing framework between federal and state governments to accelerate deployment of CNG and electric vehicles, directing that savings from the programme be passed to commuters through lower fares and that transport unions be engaged.

A committee will be constituted to coordinate the financing arrangement and ensure benefits translate into affordable and sustainable transportation.

By Felix Umande

The Federal Government has set up a technical committee to immediately accelerate livestock development and staple crop production nationwide.

The committee is to expedite action on strategic interventions in the agricultural sector, targeting wheat and other staple crops as well as livestock development.

Vice President Kashim Shettima constituted the committee on Tuesday during a high-level meeting on agricultural sector performance and strategic interventions at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Shettima charged members to cross-pollinate ideas and come up with a blueprint for implementing strategic interventions in the sector.

The meeting was sequel to a larger meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last week, which had agricultural and other multi-sector stakeholders in attendance.

The committee comprises representatives of the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security; Water Resources and Sanitation; Livestock Development; Finance Incorporated (MOFI); Special Adviser and Coordinator, Presidential Livestock Reform; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Food Security, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Livestock Development.

Other members include Chief Executive Officers of the Bank of Industry; Bank of Agriculture; National Agricultural Land Development Authority; National Agricultural Seeds Council; National Agricultural Development Fund; National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization; National Sugar Council of Nigeria; Nigeria Commodities Exchange, and National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure.

The committee will be coordinated by the Technical Adviser to the Vice President on Agriculture and Head of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit, Ms. Marion Moon.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said in addition to setting up the technical committee, the meeting deliberated on addressing critical challenges confronting farmers and leveraging available resources to scale up wheat production and dry-season farming.

He said during the meeting with the President, the Vice President was asked to further identify existing challenges in the agricultural sector and address them.

“Mr. President had always encouraged all-year-round farming, and we’re looking at coordination between all sectors and also including sub-nationals, states and local governments,” Kyari said.

On the committee, he added: “It is a technical committee with members from the various MDAs to sit and coordinate on behalf of all, and come up with its resolutions in execution. The report of the technical committee will have to be subjected to another committee before presenting to His Excellency, the Vice President and then subsequently to Mr. President.”