The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), says it is collaborating with the South-East governors to improve productivity and create industrial hubs in the region.

This was disclosed by the new South-East Zonal Director of NAFDAC, Mr Martins Iluyomade, on Thursday during a media parley with newsmen in Enugu.

He noted that the zone remains the economic heartbeat of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Nigeria.

He said that Lagos is good but in terms of economic output, the South-East is supposed to be the China of Nigeria.

He described the people of the zone as industrious, innovative, hardworking and highly business-minded people.

“My mission is to help harness all those potentials to make sure that we are able to produce what cannot only be used locally by getting NAFDAC approval, but also things we can export and this will lead to economic growth for our country.

“As South-East governors are forming a socio-economic bloc with their several meetings to create lasting peace and generate socio-economic activities; we will partner with the governors on some programs to create industrial hubs for the people of the zone.

“I want to assure you that if that initiative is properly done, China will come and learn from us in the South-East.

“We will send them our proposal as we are ready to assist them when they are setting up factories that will produce original products in order to create employment opportunities for the people,” he asserted.

Iluyomade appealed to production companies to always produce standard and safe products in accordance with NAFDAC regulatory guidelines.

He said, “We are ready to partner with production companies in the South-East to produce standard products that everybody can use.

“For those people with the brain to manufacture imitation products, the same brain can be used to produce original and genuine products.

“My job is to assist them transition from imitation to original because they have the brain to do it,” he added.