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Difficulty: HardLiteral Comprehension and Fact Retrieval

Read the passage below carefully and evaluate the statement that follows:

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was formally established by Decree No. 15 of 1993, as amended by Decree No. 19 of 1999, to regulate and control the manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale, and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, and packaged water in Nigeria. Prior to its establishment, drug control duties were managed by the Directorate of Food and Drug Administration and Control under the Federal Ministry of Health. However, a major outbreak of fake pharmaceuticals in the late 1980s prompted the Federal Government to create a specialized, autonomous statutory body. Headquartered initially in Lagos before opening its main operational complex in Abuja in 2004, NAFDAC operates zonal offices across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. In 2011, the agency introduced mobile authentication services allowing consumers to verify drug authenticity via text messaging.

Statement: Prior to the promulgation of Decree No. 15 of 1993, drug regulation in Nigeria was already conducted by an autonomous statutory body.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is False. Prior to Decree No. 15 of 1993, drug regulation was managed by a ministry directorate, not an autonomous statutory body.
The statement is false because the passage explicitly states that prior to Decree No. 15 of 1993, drug control duties were under the purview of a directorate within the Federal Ministry of Health. The autonomous statutory body was instituted only through the 1993 decree.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the core assertion in the statement regarding the organizational status of drug regulation prior to 1993.
The statement claims that an autonomous statutory body was already responsible for drug regulation before Decree No. 15 of 1993.
Isolate the specific factual claim to compare directly against passage details.
2
Locate the explicit passage text referencing the era prior to the 1993 decree.
The passage notes: 'Prior to its establishment, drug control duties were managed by the Directorate of Food and Drug Administration and Control under the Federal Ministry of Health.'
Extract the literal fact regarding the pre-1993 administrative structure.
3
Contrast the text evidence with the assertion in the statement.
The text demonstrates that the autonomous statutory body was created by the 1993 decree in response to a late 1980s crisis, whereas earlier duties belonged to a ministry directorate.
Determine the true/false validity based solely on explicit factual alignment.

Key Concept

Literal comprehension requires retrieving explicit facts directly stated in the passage without confusing pre-existing ministry structures with newly created autonomous agencies.
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Topics

Literal Comprehension and Fact Retrieval

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