By Bosun Obafemi
The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has recounted how she inherited a financially troubled agency in 2017 and embarked on reforms that she said restored its reputation locally and internationally.
Adeyeye spoke at a press conference in Lagos on Monday, where she disclosed that NAFDAC inherited about N3.2 billion in liabilities, including N1.6 billion in unpaid taxes, about N700 million owed to staff who travelled for Good Manufacturing Practice activities and approximately N400 million owed to contractors.
She said she immediately moved to cut unnecessary expenditure, particularly official travel, to free funds for debt repayment. According to her, NAFDAC recorded about 700 official trips in 2017, prompting her to restrict travels until the agency’s debts were addressed.
Adeyeye said about N3.1 billion was paid by November 2018, while some other claims were found to be fictitious and were not settled.
She also recalled the poor state of NAFDAC’s facilities when she assumed office, saying between 70 and 80 per cent of laboratory equipment was not functioning. She added that directors did not have agency-provided laptops and the agency’s ICT infrastructure had been neglected.
According to Adeyeye, the reforms transformed NAFDAC from a Maturity Level 1 agency to Level 3 in 2022, making it the third agency in Africa to achieve the status.
She said the agency subsequently gained recognition from international regulatory organisations, adding that “countries now respect us” and regulatory agencies had changed their perception of NAFDAC.
Adeyeye, who spent 34 years in the United States and retired after about three decades as a professor, said she returned to Nigeria to serve her country.
“I was ashamed of my country. I came to remove some of the shame. And the world is seeing it,” she said.
She also disclosed that she had faced opposition and calls for her resignation, particularly during the 2022 industrial action at the agency.
The NAFDAC boss challenged anyone with evidence that she demanded money from contractors to come forward.
“Any contractor that I have demanded money from should come here and tell me. I came here for service,” she said.
