The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was absent from Nigeria's ports for seven years, creating an environment in which illicit networks emerged within the pharmaceutical distribution value chain. The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this in an interview on the sidelines of the 4th Thematic General Assembly of the African Pharmaceutical Distribution Association (APDA) and the Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (PWDAN) Conference 2026 held in Lagos.
According to Prof. Adeyeye, the prolonged absence of the regulatory agency from the points of entry undermined its ability to exercise effective oversight over the importation and exportation of regulated pharmaceutical products. NAFDAC was removed from the ports between 2011 and May 16, 2018. During this period, cabals were formed, and the agency's regulatory mandate was compromised.
The disclosure came in response to allegations that counterfeit and falsified medicine syndicates could be operating with the backing of influential individuals in society. While Prof. Adeyeye could not establish who might be backing such networks, she stressed that NAFDAC would continue to deploy its regulatory mandate to protect public health. The agency's position comes amid renewed emphasis on securing Nigeria's pharmaceutical supply chain against falsified, substandard and illicitly distributed medicines.
Prof. Adeyeye identified transportation, storage and distribution controls as critical links in ensuring pharmaceutical product integrity. She also highlighted technology as an increasingly important tool for regulatory surveillance. The NAFDAC chief called for stronger collaboration between the regulator and pharmaceutical industry stakeholders, including PWDAN and the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), to protect patients from unsafe medicines.
The NAFDAC DG attributed the reduction in the prevalence of falsified medicines to increased regulatory alertness, adherence to international standards and leadership focused on public health. She rejected the notion of a separate African standard for pharmaceutical regulation, stressing the importance of compliance with internationally recognised requirements. According to her, effective regulation requires substantial financial resources to strengthen regulatory activities and ensure that non-compliant medicines are removed from the market.
The Chairman of PWDAN, Pharm. Oghenochuko Omaruaye, echoed the NAFDAC DG's position, saying the pharmaceutical industry needed a distribution architecture that was visible, traceable and accountable. He noted that falsified medicines, substandard products, illicit distribution channels and increasingly sophisticated criminal networks remained major threats to Africa's healthcare systems. Omaruaye called for greater deployment of technology and data-driven monitoring systems to improve pharmaceutical traceability.
The conference, themed "Advancing Pharmaceutical Distribution in Africa: Building Secure Supply Chains Against Falsified Medicines," aimed to address the challenges facing Africa's healthcare systems. The stakeholders emphasised the need for a secure supply chain, where falsified medicines would become increasingly difficult to manufacture, introduce into legitimate channels, distribute, and sell. They also stressed the importance of collaboration between regulators, industry stakeholders, and other stakeholders to protect public health.
Key points
- NAFDAC's 7-year absence from Nigeria's ports created an environment for illicit networks to emerge in the pharmaceutical distribution value chain.
- The agency's regulatory strategy is based on sanitising the pharmaceutical supply chain from the source.
- Effective regulation requires substantial financial resources to strengthen regulatory activities and ensure that non-compliant medicines are removed from the market.
