Written by Tezor Dedam
The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, has faced growing criticism over the prominence of fake products in the Nigerian market.
In an engagement with journalists in Lagos on Monday, September 7, 2026, she was asked about calls for her resignation amidst concerns around her and the agency’s impact. She laughed quite dramatically, then dismissed the claims around her incompetence in office, citing her personal achievements.
Here’s a rundown of just how much the NAFDAC Director-General has done in her nine years in office.
When Adeyeye was appointed in 2017, she prioritised upgrading NAFDAC’s laboratories to international standards. In her first meeting with the World Health Organisation (WHO), she called for the improvement of laboratory services in Oshodi and Yaba, Lagos State, to qualify NAFDAC for WHO accreditation. This also included training agency staff and improving customer service between the agency and the Nigerian market.
Under Adeyeye’s administration, NAFDAC also claimed to commence electronic submission of Common Technical Documents (CTDs) for nationwide drug registration, leading to significant advancements in international regulatory standards.
However, NAFDAC’s 2019 target was to reduce substandard medicine in Nigeria by 5% or less by 2025. As of 2026, no unified figures can weigh the 5% target, but research shows as much as a 25% prevalence of fake medicine and drugs without specification in open markets and from licensed vendors alike.
Adeyeye’s personal performance can be viewed distinctly from NAFDAC’s performance. It is important to consider factors like government funding, customs policing, and manufacturing gaps such as supply chain leaks and poor packaging disposal.
In December 2024, Adeyeye mentioned that NAFDAC was largely understaffed, hindering its regulatory duties. By January 2025, she lamented the shortage of NAFDAC staff again, claiming a workforce of 2,000 and tagging the number as grossly inadequate. According to her, NAFDAC doesn’t handle its own recruitment; the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOS) does.
On Wednesday, September 9, 2026, Adeyeye said that counterfeit drugs are still in circulation due to gaps in regulation. She claimed that there are patents on drugs, and when these patents are removed, it allows for low-level versions of these drugs to enter circulation.
Where does Adeyeye’s responsibility end, and where does the Nigerian system’s accountability begin?
Time after time, we have seen politicians deflect pressing issues with fancy grammar or surface-level achievements.
We’re in a cost of living crisis, but President Tinubu points to the stock market, infrastructure and foreign reserves as progress. When Nyesom Wike was accused of borrowing money for FCT projects without National Assembly approval, House of Representatives Deputy Spokesperson Rep. Philip Agbese responded by heaping praise on Wike instead of facing the matter at hand. Meanwhile, Nigerians are still waiting to be addressed on the issues that actually matter.
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