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Lagos – The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, has received the Special African Leadership Commendation Award at the 16th African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA), held at the historic House of Lords, Palace of Westminster, London.
The prestigious award, presented at the Cholmondeley Room and Terrace on July 3, 2026, recognises Prof. Adeyeye’s exceptional leadership in transforming Nigeria’s pharmaceutical regulatory system into one that is now regarded as a model across Africa and increasingly recognised globally.
The honour was conferred by the Global Advisory Board of the African Leadership Organisation (ALO), publishers of African Leadership Magazine, following what organisers described as a rigorous, merit-based assessment of her leadership achievements and institutional reforms over several years.
The organisers noted that Prof. Adeyeye inherited a struggling NAFDAC when she assumed office on November 30, 2017. At the time, the agency faced an inherited debt exceeding ₦3.2 billion, obsolete laboratory equipment, poor staff welfare, limited operational vehicles, inadequate digital infrastructure and a World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Benchmarking rating below Maturity Level One.
Less than a decade later, NAFDAC has emerged as one of Africa’s most respected regulatory agencies following sweeping reforms under her leadership.
Within her first year, Prof. Adeyeye cleared over ₦3.1 billion in inherited debts after uncovering about ₦200 million in fictitious liabilities. She also embarked on extensive institutional reforms, procuring more than 150 operational vehicles, investing over ₦7 billion in modern laboratory equipment and providing laptops and desktop computers for more than half of the agency’s workforce.
The agency also digitised about 90 per cent of its regulatory processes, introduced standard operating procedures across its operations and secured ISO 9001 Quality Management System certification in 2019, which it has successfully maintained through subsequent recertifications.
These reforms have translated into significant international recognition.
In March 2022, NAFDAC attained the WHO Global Benchmarking Maturity Level 3, a status achieved by only about 35 per cent of medicines regulatory authorities worldwide. The agency successfully retained the certification following a re-benchmarking exercise in June 2025.
Its Central Drug Laboratory in Lagos also secured WHO Prequalification in September 2023, while Nigeria attained Pre-Accession Pre-Applicant status in the Pharmaceutical Inspection and Cooperation Scheme (PIC/S), an elite regulatory network comprising about 50 countries.
Another major milestone came in 2025 when Nigeria became the 24th member of the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH), placing the country’s pharmaceutical regulatory system among a select group of global regulatory authorities.
Prof. Adeyeye’s policies have also strengthened Nigeria’s local pharmaceutical industry. Through the implementation of the Five Plus Five Regulatory Directive, imports of medicines already manufactured locally have reportedly declined by about 70 per cent, encouraging increased local production, technology transfer and renewed investments by international pharmaceutical companies.
NAFDAC is currently pursuing WHO Maturity Level 4 and World Listed Authority status, which would enable medicines manufactured in Nigeria to gain wider acceptance in international markets and strengthen the country’s position as a pharmaceutical manufacturing and export hub.
The two-day African Business Leadership Awards programme, themed “From Vision to Velocity: Driving Africa’s Next Wave of Growth and Leadership,” featured discussions on governance, innovation and economic transformation across the continent.
On the opening day at the Hilton London Metropole, Prof. Adeyeye delivered a keynote address titled “The African University of the Future: Innovation, Relevance and Global Competitiveness,” where she advocated curriculum reforms, stronger links between academia and industry, and greater integration of digital technologies into higher education.
The awards ceremony at the House of Lords was hosted by Baroness Sandy Verma and attended by distinguished global leaders, including Lord Dolar Popat and Baroness Lindsay Northover.
Also present were members of the ALO International Advisory Council, including former Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, former Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor, Gen. William Kip Ward, the first Commander of the United States Africa Command, former Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane and Dr. Victor Oladokun, Communications Adviser to the President of the African Development Bank.
Speaking after receiving the award, Prof. Adeyeye dedicated the honour to the staff of NAFDAC.
“I accept this honour not for myself alone, but on behalf of the dedicated men and women of NAFDAC whose tireless work makes every achievement attributed to my leadership possible,” she said.
Reflecting on the agency’s remarkable journey, she noted that NAFDAC had risen from being rated below the first level of the WHO Global Benchmarking framework in 2017 to attaining and retaining Maturity Level Three.
“This recognition belongs to every member of the NAFDAC family,” she added.
