Guinness Nigeria’s share price remained unchanged yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), despite a N1 billion fine imposed on the brewing giant.
The company is engaging the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on the resolution of the big fine.
In a letter to the investing public at the Exchange, the company stated that its legal review had shown that there was no basis for the N1 billion “administrative charge” from NAFDAC and it has started discussions with NAFDAC to resolve the issue.
Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Peter Ndegwa, in a statement, said all products from Guinness Nigeria conform to the highest standards of quality, having not only been produced in line with the globally accepted code of good manufacturing practice (GMP), but also been repeatedly so-certified by NAFDAC and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
According to Ndegwa, the meticulous and painstaking work including rigorous quality assurance, that precedes the final production of all the products, has a singular objective: to ensure that consumers drink products that are healthy and comparable with similar products made by a Diageo facility anywhere else in the world.
Referring to the Guinness Nigeria production facilities in Ogba, Benin City and Aba, Ndegwa stated that each of the breweries continues to work to exceed critical standards in areas such as quality and very importantly, human safety and environmental preservation. “On an incremental basis we continue to automate our processes,” Ndegwa said. “Indeed, with an investment in excess of N52 billion in improving manufacturing processes, our brewing plants would rank favourably among the most automated and modern brewing plants around the world,” Ndegwa said. The company’s major aim is the continuous enhancement of the quality of products Guinness Nigeria makes available to its consumers, he added.
On the N1 billion sanction on the company by NAFDAC, Ndegwa confirmed that Guinness Nigeria is indeed in receipt of a letter from NAFDAC noting that as a responsible corporate organization, Guinness Nigeria takes these allegations which relate primarily to raw materials stored in one of its raw materials stores very seriously. He clarified that the said raw materials store is not a production facility, assuring that the company is engaging NAFDAC for clarifications and resolution of the issues. According to Ndegwa, there is an extensive and elaborate process by which basic raw materials are first converted during the brewing stage, with lots of critical control points, before products are bottled and released to the market. “Each of these painstaking steps is rigorously monitored for conformity with all necessary global standards which we regard as basic, as we always aspire to exceed the much higher standards that have been set internally by the Diageo Group,” Ndegwa said. According to him, the high quality of products from Guinness Nigeria’s breweries has been attested to repeatedly not only by NAFDAC but also by the Standards Organization of Nigeria, as well as the internal quality controls of the Diageo Group.
Ndegwa reaffirmed that Guinness Nigeria is very positive that on account of its ongoing engagement with NAFDAC, the issues will be clarified and resolved in a short while.
Guinness Nigeria established its first brewery in Ikeja, Lagos in 1962. Since then it has remained an integral player in Nigeria’s manufacturing space, opening up more breweries located in Benin City and Aba respectively. It has been commended on several occasions not only for its commitment to quality and safety but also importantly, for its contributions to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.
END
Be the first to comment