In Nigeria, a columnist called for reforming NAFDAC
In Nigeria, columnist Umar Yakubu called on the federal government to reform the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). In a Premium Times Nigeria column, he linked this need to public statements by the agency’s director-general, Mojisola Adeyeye, about internal operational obstacles.
The author’s assessment
Yakubu argues that systemic inefficiency and corruption within the agency may weaken its core function — overseeing the safety of food and medicines. In his view, NAFDAC must inspect, track and intercept counterfeit products, on which the safety of food, pharmaceutical products and the country’s healthcare system depends.
The author believes that bribery demands, the receipt of improper benefits and deliberate delays in regulatory procedures may turn oversight mechanisms into a means of private enrichment. He also writes that internal resistance to modernization and the compromising of personnel, in his assessment, jeopardize the agency’s performance results.
Among these results, Yakubu cited NAFDAC’s achievement of World Health Organization maturity level three and its fight against networks distributing counterfeit medicines. This claim is made in the author’s column.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Proposed reforms
Yakubu proposes providing NAFDAC with stable direct funding and budgetary independence. In his plan, this would enable the agency to establish modern laboratories at major goods entry points and reduce its dependence on external logistics.
The author also calls for integrating NAFDAC into the broader national security system and transforming its enforcement unit into an intelligence-led structure. Among possible tools, he named data analytics, real-time product tracking, including GS1 barcode systems, and covert surveillance of counterfeit product supply chains.
In Yakubu’s view, deliberate obstruction of regulatory processes and bribery demands should be regarded as threats to national security. He proposes applying dismissal, asset confiscation and criminal prosecution to employees involved.
