NAFDAC unveils 600 pharmacists for drug regulation across Nigeria

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has unveiled 600 pharmacists to strengthen drug regulation across Nigeria.

The initiative is part of efforts to combat substandard and falsified medicines, unwholesome food, and other public health risks across Nigeria and its communities

The NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant, Olusayo Akintola, said this in a statement issued on Sunday, September 13, 2026, quoting Director-General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye on the initiative’s objectives and implementation nationwide efforts.

Adeyeye said the 600 qualified and service-ready pharmacists were drawn from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, following a transparent selection process based on merit, availability, and geographical representation.

Adeyeye urged the pharmacists, while administering their oath of allegiance, to serve Nigeria with integrity beyond negotiation, warning that they would face pressures and inducements designed to compromise their regulatory responsibilities.

“Once a regulator is bought, the public loses its protection,” the NAFDAC boss said.

Adeyeye said the pharmacists had pursued careers in different fields before joining the programme, while their selection reflected a deliberate effort to strengthen regulatory capacity across Nigeria’s diverse communities and regions.

She described the Pharmacists Regulatory Volunteers Programme (PRVP) as more than an internship or attachment, calling it an investment in people, professional development, stronger national regulatory capacity, and public protection.

“The volunteers will receive training in medicines regulation, including pharmacovigilance, compliance monitoring, quality assurance, data collection, public sensitisation against drug abuse, and practical measures protecting Nigerians from dangerous products and counterfeits,” Adeyeye added.

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Adeyeye said the volunteers would also learn what it meant to stand between Nigerians and substandard, falsified, or dangerous products, while developing practical skills needed for effective regulatory interventions.

The NAFDAC boss explained that the programme would build a national reserve of trained pharmacists who could be mobilised during product recalls, suspected circulation of falsified medicines, public health emergencies, and other urgent regulatory situations.

Adeyeye said her ambition was for every state to have a standing pool of trained, vetted, and mobilisable pharmacists working alongside NAFDAC state offices to strengthen surveillance and regulatory activities.

She said the initiative would extend NAFDAC’s regulatory presence beyond laboratories and ports of entry to markets, community pharmacies, patent medicine stores, and primary healthcare centres nationwide.

She said: “Regulation that lives only in the capital cannot protect a nation of more than 200 million people.

“This programme is aimed at taking regulation to the doorstep of the Nigerian people.”

Adeyeye urged the volunteers to remain available and disciplined, stressing that they must respond promptly whenever called for assignments and ensure every responsibility assigned to them was properly completed.