FDB Boss Persecutes Me Because I Support Akufo Addo - Yafo CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of Frank Paul Ventures, manufacturers of Yafo herbal medicines, has taken a swipe at the Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) for what he says is an unwarranted hatred and persecution to get him out of business. Mr. Kwaku Boakye says the FDB�s activities against his business are politically motivated, challenging claims that some products of his company are not certified by the FDB. Mr. Boakye was speaking on Asempa FM on Friday, in response to notices by the Food and Drugs Board to the general public not to patronize the Yafo herbal products, because it cannot authenticate its efficacy since the company's mandate to manufacture the herbal products had expired. Mr. Boakye said FDB officials and policemen, without a warrant, broke into his residence at Mamprobi, Accra earlier today, adding that before this recent visit, the FDB and National Security operatives visited his other residence at East Legon to search his entire house. He noted that the FDB and National Security again went to Takoradi and parts of the Volta Region to seize all Yafo products from a number of shops which stocked and sold the medicine. Mr. Boakye claimed he is a target of a political design, explaining that the FDB boss Dr. Stephen K. Opuni claims he (Boakye) is a friend to Nana Akufo-Addo, flag-bearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party NPP. The attack on his business, he maintained is purely political. In a sharp rebuttal however, a regulatory officer at the Drugs Inspectorate Department of the Food and Drugs Board, Mr. Issaka Collison explained that the FDB had been given a court order to search the offices or production premises of the herbal center. According to Mr. Issaka, Mr. Boakye refused to take officials of the FDB to see his manufacturing premises after several attempts by the FDB, leaving them with no option than to rely on the FDB's intelligence reports to locate the production house. You can listen to Mr, Issaka in the attached audio. �This move follows reports that there are Yafo products on the market even after the FDB had announced that the company had not registered its products since 2009�, he said. Mr. Issaka denied the 'political persecution' accusations and explained the operations are in full conformity with the laws setting up the FDB. According to Mr. Issaka, Yafo's manufacturing premises fouls the law because it is a residential compound and therefore not certified by the FDB. He said Mr. Boakye only came to re-register his products after receiving reports that other competitors have been to the FDB offices to re-register their products. He maintained that the FDB is committed to protecting the Ghanaian consumer�s interest as well as that of the nation.