The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Moji Adeyeye, has rejected calls for her resignation, saying she returned to Nigeria after decades in the United States to contribute to the country’s development and restore the agency’s image.
Adeyeye spoke during an engagement with journalists on Monday while responding to a question on why calls for her removal persisted despite what she described as the agency’s achievements under her leadership.
Before returning to Nigeria to lead NAFDAC, Adeyeye spent over three decades in the United States, where she built a distinguished career as a pharmaceutical academic, researcher and entrepreneur. She said she spent 34 years in the US, including about 30 years as a professor, before retiring and returning to Nigeria to serve as the Director-General of NAFDAC.
“I lived in the US for 34 years. I was a professor for 30 years in an all-white school. I retired happily. I came here to serve, but some Nigerians have an aversion to service. It is for 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.
‘Was Ashamed Of My Country’
Adeyeye challenged anyone who had accused her of demanding money from contractors to come forward, insisting that her motivation for joining NAFDAC was service.
“Any contractor that I have demanded money from should come here and tell me! I came here for service. I retired happily. 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 recalled that when she assumed office, NAFDAC faced significant financial, operational and institutional challenges.
According to her, the agency had inherited about N3.2 billion in outstanding liabilities, while between 70 and 80 per cent of its laboratory equipment was not functioning. She also said the agency’s information and communications technology infrastructure was in poor condition and that directors did not have laptops purchased by NAFDAC as of 2017.
Adeyeye said she prioritised clearing the agency’s liabilities, adding that about N3.1 billion had been paid by November 2018.
She also highlighted NAFDAC’s progress in regulatory development, saying the agency had moved from a maturity level-one status to level three by March 2022, making it the third agency in Africa to attain that level.
She further said NAFDAC became an affiliate member of the International Medical Device Regulators Forum in 2023 and a member of the International Council for Harmonisation in 2025.
“Countries now respect us. Regulatory agencies respect us. My first two years, I was going round doing image making, rebuilding our bad image. They were calling NAFDAC ‘good for nothing agency’. This is my 9th year. When I got to NAFDAC, NAFDAC had a status of minus maturity level one out of four,” she said.
Adeyeye then directly addressed the question of whether she should resign, saying: “So that question; ‘when are you going to resign’- I hope you got the answer?”
The pressure on the NAFDAC leadership has intensified amid public concerns over counterfeit and substandard products in the Nigerian market, including medicines, food, drinks and cosmetics.
The agency has also faced opposition from manufacturers and some civil society groups over the enforcement of its ban on sachet alcohol and small polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles below 200ml.
Critics of the policy have argued it could affect jobs and investment in the sector, while NAFDAC has maintained that its regulatory measures aim to protect public health.
The agency has also pointed to its enforcement activities, including destroying counterfeit products worth more than ₦1.5 trillion over the past three years, in response to concerns about its effectiveness.
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