The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, burst into laughter on Monday following calls for her resignation over the circulation of fake and substandard products in Nigeria.
She gave the reaction during an engagement with journalists at a press conference on Monday.
Adeyeye, who has spent decades working in the pharmaceutical and academic sectors, insisting that she came back to Nigeria after decades in the United States to serve the country and help restore NAFDAC’s reputation.
She disclosed that she spent 34 years in the United States, including about 30 years as a professor, before retiring and returning to Nigeria to serve.
“I lived in the US for 34 years. I was a professor for 30 years in an all-white school. I retired happily. I came here to serve, but some Nigerians have an aversion to service. It is for what can I get,” she said.
According to the NAFDAC boss, the culture of seeking personal benefit had contributed to some of the country’s challenges.
“We have rendered Nigeria useless because of ‘what can I get’! We have rendered Nigeria useless because of ‘what is in it for my pocket?’” she added.
Adeyeye also challenged contractors who may have accused her of demanding money from them to come forward, insisting that her decision to lead NAFDAC was motivated by a desire to serve.
“Any contractor that I have demanded money from should come here and tell me! I came here for service. I retired happily. I was ashamed of my country! I came to remove some of the shame. And the world is seeing it! The world is seeing it!”
The NAFDAC DG recalled the financial and operational difficulties she encountered when she assumed office, saying the agency had inherited about N3.2 billion in outstanding liabilities.
She also said between 70 and 80 per cent of NAFDAC’s laboratory equipment was not functioning at the time, while the agency’s information and communications technology infrastructure was in poor condition.
According to her, some directors did not have laptops purchased by NAFDAC as of 2017.
Adeyeye said she prioritised the settlement of the agency’s liabilities, adding that about N3.1 billion had been paid by November 2018.
She also pointed to NAFDAC’s progress in regulatory development, saying the agency advanced from maturity level one to level three by March 2022, making it the third agency in Africa to attain the level.
She further disclosed that NAFDAC became an affiliate member of the International Medical Device Regulators Forum in 2023 and joined the International Council for Harmonisation in 2025.
“Countries now respect us. Regulatory agencies respect us. My first two years, I was going round doing image making, rebuilding our bad image. They were calling NAFDAC ‘good for nothing agency’,” Adeyeye said.
Responding directly to the calls for her resignation, Adeyeye appeared to challenge her critics to assess her tenure based on the changes she said had taken place within the agency.
“So that question; ‘when are you going to resign, I hope you got the answer?” she said.