‘Some Nigerians averse to service’ — NAFDAC DG reacts to calls for her resignation

‘Some Nigerians averse to service’ — NAFDAC DG reacts to calls for her resignation

 Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of the National Agency
for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has criticised what she
described as an aversion to public service among some Nigerians.

 

Adeyeye spoke on Monday at a press conference in Lagos while
responding to a question on whether she would bow to pressure and resign
following calls for her removal over the circulation of counterfeit products in
Nigeria.

 

The NAFDAC DG said she retired after a 30-year teaching
career in the United States and returned to Nigeria because she wanted to serve
the country.

 

“I lived in the U.S. for 37 years. I was a professor for 30
years in an all-white school. I retired happily. I came here to serve,” a
visibly angry Adeyeye said.

 

 

“But Nigerians have aversion for service. Some Nigerians
have aversion for service. It is for ‘what can I get from the country?’

 

“We have rendered Nigeria useless because of ‘what can I
get?’ We have rendered Nigeria useless because of ‘what is it in it for my
pocket?”

 

Adeyeye said 2022, the final year of her first term, was
particularly difficult, alleging that some staff members were instigated to
embark on a strike to undermine the agency.

 

 

She also alleged that some individuals seeking to become
NAFDAC’s next DG were working behind the scenes to instigate the unrest.

 

“It was a horrible year because people instigated, even our
own staff, to start to go on strike from June of 2022 to November to paint the
kettle black. The kettle has remained white,” she said.

 

“Because some people wanted to become DG of NAFDAC, they are
instigating a lot behind the scenes.”

 

Adeyeye said her tenure at NAFDAC had involved efforts to
transform the agency despite inheriting what she described as significant
financial and operational challenges.

 

 

She said when she assumed office, NAFDAC was at “minus
maturity level one out of four”, below the four levels under the World Health
Organisation’s regulatory assessment framework.

 

According to Adeyeye, she inherited about N3.2 billion in
debt, including N1.6 billion in unpaid taxes, about N700 million owed to staff
who travelled for GNP, and about N400 million owed to contractors.

 

The NAFDAC DG said the agency paid about N3.1 billion of the
debts as of November 2018, adding that she stopped further travels until the
outstanding obligations were addressed.

 

Adeyeye also said between 70 and 80 percent of NAFDAC’s
laboratory equipment was not functioning when she assumed office.

 

 

She said the agency subsequently recorded improvements in
its regulatory standing, including attaining maturity level three in March
2022, which she described as the third such achievement in Africa.

 

She also cited NAFDAC’s affiliate membership of the
International Medical Device Regulators Forum in 2023 and its membership of the
International Council for Harmonisation in 2025 as evidence of the agency’s
progress.

 

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

 

She said her approach to public service was different from
that of those who saw government positions as opportunities for personal gain.

 

“I came here to serve. A contractor that I’ve demanded money
from should come here and tell me.”

Source: ‘Some Nigerians averse to service’ — NAFDAC DG reacts to calls for her resignation



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