Soludo warns herbal practitioners against colluding with criminals

• Insists biodata registration expose quacks

Anambra State Government has warned herbal practitioners who are opposed to government security measures to checkmate activities of kidnappers, ritualists and other criminal elements in the state to retrace their steps.

Speaking to newsmen on the import of ongoing bio-data registration aimed at knowing identities, and operation bases of herbal practitioners, the Managing Director of Indigenous Medicine and Herbal Practice Agency, Dr. Daniel Ejie, said violators would be sanctioned appropriately.

He noted that the essence of the database is in line with the vision of Soludo’s administration to provide a regulated and italicised system to identify genuinely and quacks in the herbal practice.

Ejie disclosed that the agency opted to call a meeting to bring different agitating bodies on board for harmony, including the National Association of Traditional Medicine Practitioners (NATMP), Igbo Traditional Associations, and Modern Traditional Association, among others.

While describing the baseless and frivolous allegation that the agency has earned about N200 million from the bio data exercise, he revealed that the exercise, which is still ongoing, has not even generated one-quarter of the amount being bandied.

He also said that the government approved the payment of N10,000, as well as N1,000 for membership and identity cards per member, which, according to him, are paid promptly into government-designated banks, and receipted by the agency.

According to him, the inauguration of the board is under the authority of the state governor, stressing that his detractors are mainly those who have been using the name of the board to allegedly extort and divert money meant for government coffers.

Ejie pointed out that the core mandate of the agency cover capturing all herbal practitioners on the state government’s database, undertaking inspection of operation bases of practitioners for easy identification, registration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and interfacing with members to identify challenges and assist them.

He noted that members are those who use one root or herb to treat one illness or the other, adding that the inspection of their operation bases would help the agency know if the person is a herbal practitioner or not.

Ejie observed that the bio-data registration started earlier before Soludo was inaugurated on March 17 this year, and that practitioners have been given till November this year to complete their registration.

He revealed that inspection of the operation bases of supposed herbal practitioners would determine if they could be considered fit to practice as members or use the profession to commit crimes in the state.