The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has called for the recruitment of at least 5,000 additional personnel, saying the agency’s current workforce is inadequate to effectively regulate food, medicines and other products consumed by over 240 million Nigerians.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, Adeyeye said NAFDAC currently operates with about 2,000 staff, a figure she described as grossly insufficient for the agency’s nationwide regulatory and enforcement responsibilities.
She said although the agency was not seeking to match countries with larger regulatory workforces, the recruitment of at least 5,000 additional personnel would significantly strengthen its operations.
“We are not asking for 20,000. We need at least 5,000 more staff,” Adeyeye said.
The NAFDAC boss also revealed that the Federal Task Force C34, established to support the agency’s enforcement activities, has not received any government funding since it was created under a law enacted in 2004.
“The Federal Task Force C34 Bill was enacted in 2004. That bill was never supported with one naira,” she said.
According to Adeyeye, the task force works with 36 state task forces to combat counterfeit medicines, substandard products and other regulatory violations across the country, but inadequate funding has hampered its effectiveness.
She said the agency’s manpower shortage had overstretched its capacity, making it impossible to maintain a strong regulatory presence nationwide.
“We cannot be everywhere. We are stretched thin. We are doing the very best we can do,” she said.
To underscore the staffing gap, Adeyeye compared Nigeria with Indonesia, noting that while Nigeria’s population stands at about 240 million with only 2,000 NAFDAC personnel, Indonesia, with a population of about 280 million, has approximately 20,000 regulatory staff.
“We have been chronically short of staff in NAFDAC. We are 240 million people and we have 2,000 staff. A comparable country like Indonesia that has about 280 million people has 20,000 staff. That is the gap that we have been discussing in terms of closing,” she said.
Despite the challenges, Adeyeye expressed optimism that the Federal Government would respond positively to the agency’s request for increased manpower and funding.
According to her, discussions with the Minister of Finance have been encouraging, adding that the government is aware of the agency’s staffing and operational needs.
“The Federal Government is listening that we need a lot of staff and we need support. And I believe they’re going to do that,” she added.
The appeal comes as NAFDAC intensifies its nationwide campaign against counterfeit medicines, fake food products and other substandard regulated goods, insisting that stronger manpower and adequate funding are critical to safeguarding public health.
