The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has called on international development partners to support Nigeria in establishing local fill-and-finish modular vaccine manufacturing facilities.
Speaking at the 8th edition of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) Expo held in Lagos, Prof. Adeyeye emphasized that establishing local production capacity is the final hurdle remaining for Nigeria to achieve World Health Organization (WHO) Maturity Level 4 certification.
The two-day expo attracted key industry stakeholders, including regulatory agencies, international development partners, investors, and over 132 healthcare companies from countries such as the United States, China, France, Germany, Egypt, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
Addressing delegates and global stakeholders during her executive address, Prof. Adeyeye detailed NAFDAC’s progress toward attaining the highest global regulatory benchmark for medicines and vaccines.
”We want to call on our international partners who have been of tremendous help. Without them, we would not have reached this point,” Prof. Adeyeye stated. “I want to challenge them to contribute to fill-and-finish modular vaccine manufacturing so that we can achieve Vaccine Lot Release.”
According to the NAFDAC chief, the agency has successfully satisfied eight out of nine mandatory regulatory functions set by the WHO. The final missing piece remains Vaccine Lot Release, a requirement tied directly to active local vaccine production and processing capabilities within the country.
Prof. Adeyeye noted that NAFDAC has calculated the roadmap and estimated costs needed to achieve this regulatory milestone. She assured investors and global bodies that the financial requirements are reasonable and achievable.
”To get Lot Release; Maturity Level 4, we have worked out the process and estimated the cost. It will not be too expensive, and we will share the details,” she added. “It is high time we went back to vaccine manufacturing. We cannot afford to return to where we used to be.”
The event also highlighted the impact of recent federal government policy shifts aimed at strengthening local drug manufacturing. Prof. Adeyeye commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the 2024 Executive Order, which provided key fiscal incentives, tariff reductions, and operational relief for domestic pharmaceutical producers.
NAFDAC data shows that between 2021 and 2025, pharmaceutical imports affected by the agency’s “5 Plus 5″ policy and local capacity initiatives dropped by 70 percent as domestic manufacturing expanded.
Reiterating the industry’s stance, the Chairman of PMG-MAN and Managing Director/CEO of Daily Need Limited, Mr. Oluwatosin Jolayemi, advocated for sustained policy stability to guarantee medicine security and pharmaceutical sovereignty.
”Medicine security and pharmaceutical sovereignty require sustained government policies and investment in local production,” Jolayemi remarked. He called on the federal government to extend the 2024 Presidential Executive Order by an additional two years when its initial timeline expires in March 2027.
Also present at the event was the Managing Director and CEO of May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Mr. Patrick Ajah, along with other top industrial leaders who urged foreign investors to key into Nigeria’s expanding pharmaceutical market.
NAFDAC’s proposal for modular “fill-and-finish” facilities aims to provide a rapid, scalable framework for local vaccine formulation, filling, and packaging, ensuring Nigeria is equipped to respond to future public health emergencies independently.
