Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has urged pharmaceutical manufacturers in Nigeria to make strategic investments toward producing human vaccines locally.
Speaking at the 2025 Investiture Ceremony and Lecture of Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy (NAPHARM), held at the College of Medicine, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos, Adeyeye warned that Nigeria must not wait for another pandemic before taking vaccine production seriously.
She recalled how the country’s dependence on international donors during the COVID-19 pandemic exposed its lack of preparedness and vulnerability to external supply disruptions.
“Nigeria should not wait for another pandemic before getting prepared. We were too dependent on foreign countries during COVID-19. We could not get vaccines unless they came from abroad,” she said.
Adeyeye highlighted reforms implemented under her leadership to strengthen regulatory efficiency within NAFDAC, explaining that the agency’s structure was overhauled to ensure transparency and alignment with global standards.
“When I assumed office, all NAFDAC-regulated products food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, vaccines, veterinary products, and pesticides were under one directorate. This made the system inefficient and prone to corruption,” she noted.
“To enhance governance, we created separate directorates, including a dedicated one for Vaccines, Biologics, and Medical Devices in November 2024. This restructuring allows us to meet international best practices and operate at the same level as advanced countries.”
She added that NAFDAC attained the World Health Organization’s Maturity Level 3 regulatory status for medicines and imported vaccines in 2022, a milestone she described as crucial to Nigeria’s goal of achieving vaccine self-sufficiency.
The NAFDAC chief expressed optimism that local vaccine production would commence before the end of her tenure.
“It will be exciting news for me to see Nigeria manufacture human vaccines before I leave office,” Adeyeye said, adding that despite producing veterinary vaccines since 1924, the country must not continue to rely on foreign partners for human vaccines.
She reaffirmed that NAFDAC has developed comprehensive guidelines for emergency preparedness to strengthen the country’s response to future epidemics and pandem
