NAFDAC DG links Nigeria’s counterfeit medicine crisis to regulatory gaps

Nigeria’s ongoing crisis with counterfeit medicines is fundamentally tied to longstanding issues in the nation’s pharmaceutical regulatory system, according to Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Speaking to Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Adeyeye highlighted the agency’s ongoing battle against the proliferation of fake and unapproved products within the country.

She pointed out that the division and subsequent reassignment of authority over patent medicine dealers played a role in the emergence of unregulated drug markets, which she characterized as being populated by individuals lacking proper pharmaceutical knowledge. Adeyeye traced part of the problem to the manner in which Nigeria had managed the regulation of patent medicine dealers and the distribution of medicines over time.

She argued that the responsibility for monitoring these dealers was first removed from the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) for a while, only to be returned later, at a time when many individuals with insufficient pharmaceutical knowledge had already entered the profession. Adeyeye directly linked this situation to the persistent issue of substandard and falsified medicines in Nigeria.

She acknowledged that transforming decades-old problems is not an overnight process, but affirmed that NAFDAC is actively seeking to rectify the situation. Additionally, Adeyeye pointed to changes in the registration process for medicines in Nigeria as part of their efforts to improve the quality of products entering the market.

She noted that Nigeria had not consistently adhered to international standards for drug registration in the past, explaining that NAFDAC now follows the Common Technical Document as a guide for registering medicines. Adeyeye stressed the necessity of using international standards in drug registration, while recognizing that this process requires time.

The Nigerian pharmaceutical industry is heavily reliant on imported medicines and production inputs, making it particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and rising costs of production. In August 2026, Nairametrics reported that over 70% of medicines in Nigeria were imported, with local manufacturers relying on imports for over 96% of their raw materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients.

This reliance underscores the industry's susceptibility to changes in the naira’s value and increased costs of production inputs.