Director-General (DG) of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has defended the achievements and enforcement records of the agency amid pressure for her resignation, citing 64 convictions secured within one year and other regulatory milestones recorded under her leadership.

Adeyeye, who spoke yesterday in Lagos while responding to questions on calls for her resignation, said the agency’s performance should be considered against the progress it had made in enforcement, regulatory capacity and international recognition.

The NAFDAC DG described the final year of her first tenure as difficult, saying that she faced attempts by some individuals, including members of staff, to instigate industrial action and create instability.

She said that when she assumed office, NAFDAC was facing serious financial and operational challenges, including unpaid obligations and non-functional equipment.

According to her, the agency inherited about $3.2 billion in debt, including $1.6 billion in unpaid taxes, and about $400 million owed to contractors.

Adeyeye, who said she stopped official travels until the debts were addressed and that the agency had paid about $3.1 billion of the debts by November 2018, also recalled that between 70 and 80 per cent of the agency’s laboratory equipment were not functioning when she assumed office, while companies were reportedly providing vehicles for NAFDAC officials to use during inspections.

She said that no director had a laptop purchased by NAFDAC and that the agency’s information and communications technology infrastructure had been neglected.

Adeyeye said the agency subsequently recorded significant regulatory improvements, attaining maturity level three in March 2022, which she noted was the first of such achievement in Africa.

She added that NAFDAC became an affiliate member of the International Medical Device Regulators Forum in 2023 and a member of the International Council for Harmonisation by 2025.

According to her, the achievements had improved the agency’s standing among regulatory bodies globally, contrasting this with the negative perception of NAFDAC when she first assumed office.

The NAFDAC DG said she spent her first two years rebuilding the agency’s image, recalling that NAFDAC had previously been described as a “good for nothing agency” by some people.

She, however, said that the agency secured 64 convictions between June 2025 and June 2026, which she described as the highest number of convictions recorded in the agency’s history within a year.