The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has opened up on what she described as a bruising battle to rescue the agency from crippling debts, failing infrastructure and a battered international reputation.
Adeyeye, who assumed office in 2017, said she inherited about ₦3.2 billion in liabilities, including ₦1.6 billion in unpaid taxes, about ₦700 million owed to staff who travelled for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspections, and roughly ₦400 million owed contractors.
Speaking during a media engagement in Lagos on Monday, the NAFDAC boss said she immediately moved to cut unnecessary spending, particularly official travels, in a bid to free up funds to settle the debts.
“In 2017 alone, there were 700 travels, and I said no more travels until we pay our debts,” she said.
According to Adeyeye, the agency had been operating under severe institutional constraints when she took over.
She claimed that 70 to 80 per cent of NAFDAC’s laboratory equipment was not functioning, while the agency’s information and communication technology infrastructure was virtually neglected.
“No single director had a laptop bought by NAFDAC as of 2017. The ICT was put in the deep freezer,” she recalled.
But Adeyeye said one of her earliest battles was changing an entrenched culture of non-payment.
“We paid about ₦3.1 billion by November 2018. Then people asked me — why are you paying debts? We don’t pay debts here o! I said ehn ehn? But I was brought up not to owe. Not to be a slave to the lender,” she said.
‘They Called Us Good-for-Nothing’
Beyond the finances, Adeyeye said she inherited something even more damaging — a NAFDAC brand that had lost credibility internationally.
She said she spent her first two years deliberately rebuilding the agency’s image and restoring confidence among foreign regulatory bodies.
“In my first two years, I was going round doing image-making, rebuilding our bad image. They were calling NAFDAC ‘good-for-nothing agency’,” she said.
According to her, the transformation eventually became measurable.
Adeyeye said NAFDAC moved from maturity level minus one to Level 3 by March 2022, making it the third agency in Africa to attain that status.
She further said the agency became an affiliate member of the International Medical Regulatory Forum in 2023 and joined the International Council for Harmonisation in 2025.
“Countries now respect us. Regulatory agencies respect us,” she declared.
She recalled an encounter during her first trip to South Africa, where a colleague joked about the large contingents previously taken on official trips — a practice she attributed to the pursuit of estacode.
‘People Wanted Me Out’
Adeyeye also revisited what she described as one of the darkest periods of her tenure, alleging that attempts were made to undermine her leadership and force her out of office.
She singled out 2022, the final year of her first term, describing it as “a bad year” and “a horrible year.”
According to her, staff were allegedly instigated to embark on a prolonged strike between June and November that year.
“To paint the kettle black, but the kettle has remained white,” she said, suggesting that some individuals were working behind the scenes to discredit her administration because they wanted the position of DG.
‘I Was Ashamed of My Country’
Adeyeye, who spent 34 years in the United States and 30 years as a professor before returning to Nigeria, said she came back not for personal gain but to serve.
“I retired happily. I came here to serve,” she said.
But she lamented what she described as a deeply entrenched culture of self-interest among some Nigerians.
“Some Nigerians have an aversion to service. It is ‘what can I get?’ We have rendered Nigeria useless because of ‘what can I get?’ We have rendered Nigeria useless because of ‘what is in it for my pocket?’” she said.
The NAFDAC DG also issued a direct challenge to contractors who may have accused her of demanding bribes.
“Any contractor that I have demanded money from should come here and tell me! I came here for service,” she declared.
Adeyeye said her motivation for returning to Nigeria was partly driven by embarrassment over the country's image abroad.
“I was ashamed of my country! I came to remove some of the shame. And the world is seeing it! The world is seeing it!” she said.
And to those questioning when she would resign, Adeyeye had a blunt response:
“So that question, ‘when are you going to resign’ — I hope you got the answer? Tell the person that sent you to ask that question that you have got the answer. Don’t be afraid to deliver the answer.”
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