Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has received a Special African Leadership Commendation Award at the UK House of Lords, with the recognition highlighting how she transformed Nigeria’s medicines regulator from a struggling agency into one of Africa’s leading regulatory institutions.
The award was presented during the 16th African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) at the House of Lords in London after an independent assessment of her leadership and the impact of reforms introduced since she took office in November 2017.
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The honour reflects a remarkable turnaround at NAFDAC. When Adeyeye assumed office, the agency was weighed down by more than N3.2 billion in debt, most of its laboratory equipment was unusable, inspections were hampered by a lack of vehicles, staff morale was low, and regulatory processes were largely manual. The agency was also rated below Level One on the World Health Organisation’s Global Benchmarking scale, placing it among the world’s weakest medicines regulators.
Within her first year, NAFDAC cleared more than N3.1 billion of inherited debt and uncovered N200 million in false liabilities. The agency also invested heavily in new laboratory equipment, inspection vehicles and digital infrastructure, while moving about 90 per cent of its regulatory services online.
The reforms have earned Nigeria growing international recognition. NAFDAC achieved the World Health Organisation’s Maturity Level 3 regulatory status in 2022 and successfully retained the rating in 2025, placing it among a relatively small group of regulators globally that meet internationally recognised standards.
The agency has also secured WHO prequalification for its Central Drug Laboratory in Lagos, advanced towards membership of the Pharmaceutical Inspection and Cooperation Scheme (PIC/S), and helped Nigeria become one of only 25 members of the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH), strengthening confidence in the country’s pharmaceutical regulatory system.
These milestones have improved investor confidence in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector. Under NAFDAC’s “Five Plus Five” policy, the importation of medicines already produced locally has fallen by about 70 percent, encouraging local manufacturing and attracting renewed investment from international pharmaceutical companies.
NAFDAC is now targeting WHO Maturity Level 4 and World Listed Authority status, achievements that could allow medicines produced in Nigeria to gain wider acceptance in regional and global markets, boosting the country’s ambition to become a pharmaceutical manufacturing and export hub.
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Speaking after receiving the award, Adeyeye dedicated the honour to NAFDAC staff, saying the agency’s progress was the result of collective effort.
“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.
The recognition comes at a time when stronger drug regulation is becoming increasingly important across Africa as governments seek to combat counterfeit medicines, strengthen local pharmaceutical production and improve access to safe, quality medicines.
