BEVERLY HILLS, March 23, (THEWILL) – National President of the Association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria (ATWAP), Mrs. Clementina Chinwe Ativie, has commended the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojosola Christiana Adeyeye, for her commitment in maintaining high quality standards in the water production business.
Mrs. Ativie, who said that NAFDAC Prof Adeyeye had encouraged water producers to do the right things without cutting corners also said that she was equally impressed with the agency DG’s resolve to work with table water producers.
Speaking at the celebration of the 2021 World Water Day in Lagos, Mrs. Ativie said NAFDAC’s approach to its regulatory duties had spurred ATWAP to be eager in partnership with the agency.
As part of its resolve to work hand in hand with the regulator, Ativie said ATWAP had already flagged-off a self-regulation scheme, ostensibly targeted at joining hands with the regulatory body to achieve the DG’s zero tolerance for substandard and low quality products in Nigeria.
With national, zonal, state and local unit executives, the ATWAP President noted that members recognised the fact that regulating water producers and their activities remained a huge task for NAFDAC alone.
She, therefore, stated that ATWAP was determined to compliment the efforts of the agency to achieve the overall result of safeguarding the health of the nation of which water is pivotal.
Ativie said, “Already our products are everywhere. There is no place you go in Nigeria and you don’t see sachet or bottled water. This means someone has taken them to that point. They are products that are not scarce anywhere. That is where we are playing a major role, ensuring that the people get quality water.
“The increase in the price of Table Water is caused by many factors. I can tell you that, if we put the price, considering what it takes us to produce water, 99 percent of Nigerians wouldn’t be able to afford it. The same water that we are increasing the price is still N10. Table Water is N70 but the materials we use cost about N480,000 to produce a tonne before. As I am talking to you now, we buy it for N1,500,000. So tell me why we cannot increase the price. And if you watch, for over 12 years, the price of water has remained stable. Every other thing has increased.
“We have been bridging the gap and making sure we produce. In fact, we have been subsidising the cost. If we sell it according to our production costs, I don’t think anybody can afford water in this country. This is because it is a humanitarian product.”
She said those in the industry carried on business as they saw themselves as essential service providers.
Her words: “Once you are into it, it is difficult for you to leave it. We bring in money from other sources to be able to fund the water business. A lot of us in the business are pulling in money from other businesses to sustain it, apart from the quacks because they are not adding value. And that is why we are insisting that the regulatory agencies, such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) should carry ATWAP along, so as to help them get rid of the quacks in the society.
“And I can tell you that we have over 30,000 water producers in Nigeria which ATWAP has about 24,000 members. Even NAFDAC cannot tell you how many people they have registered because people come in and go out. Sometimes, when they get to a factory, they will discover it has been converted to a residential building. It is we that know who is closing, who is coming up, who has gone to NAFDAC and who has not gone to NAFDAC. And it is only we that can say, hey, you can’t be in this industry if you can’t do the right thing. But if we don’t have the cooperation of the regulators, what do we do?”
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