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Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, has been conferred with the Special African Leadership Commendation Award.
She received the award during the 16th African Business Leadership Awards held at the House of Lords in London, the United Kingdom, in recognition of her works towards better regulatory science, public health and pharmaceutical governance in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
The award was given to the NAFDAC boss by the Global Advisory Board of the African Leadership Organisation (ALO), during an event on July 3.
The organisation commended Prof. Adeyeye’s leadership in transforming Nigeria’s food and drug regulatory system and strengthening public health oversight.
The award came as NAFDAC continues its drive towards attaining the World Health Organisation’s Maturity Level 4 and World Listed Authority status, a milestone expected to enhance the global acceptance and export potential of medicines manufactured in Nigeria.
Speaking after receiving the award, Prof. Adeyeye dedicated the honour to members of staff of the agency.
She said: “I accept this honour on behalf of the dedicated men and women of NAFDAC. When I assumed office in 2017, NAFDAC was rated below the first rung of the WHO global benchmarking ladder. Today, we stand at Maturity Level 3. This recognition belongs to every member of the NAFDAC family.”
According to the agency, when Adeyeye assumed office in November 2017, NAFDAC faced an inherited debt of over N3.2 billion, had non-functional laboratories, lacked inspection vehicles and was rated below WHO Maturity Level 1.
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It stated that, within one year, the debt was cleared through fiscal discipline, while significant investments were made to reposition the agency.
NAFDAC disclosed that it had since invested more than N7 billion in laboratory equipment, digitised about 90 percent of its regulatory processes and reduced pharmaceutical importation by approximately 70 percent.
The agency also noted that Nigeria was successfully benchmarked at WHO Maturity Level 3 in June 2025, placing it among the estimated 35 percent of medical regulatory authorities worldwide to attain that level.
It added that Nigeria has also become the 24th member of the International Council for Harmonisation, making it one of only 25 members among 194 medicine regulatory agencies globally.
According to the statement, NAFDAC’s reforms had attracted support from international development partners, including the Gates Foundation, UNICEF and the European Union.
As part of the two-day African Business Leadership Awards programme, Adeyeye also delivered a keynote address at the Hilton London Metropole on “The African University of the Future: Innovation, Relevance and Global Competitiveness.”
Her presentation was attended by African heads of state, government officials, academics and global business leaders.
NAFDAC said the agency remains focused on achieving WHO Maturity Level 4 and World Listed Authority status, a development expected to strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical regulatory system and facilitate wider continental and international trade in medicines produced in the country.
