The senate has taken steps to facilitate the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s directive approving the refund of unauthorised deductions from the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The move followed the disclosure by Mojisola Adeyeye,
director-general (DG) of NAFDAC, that the agency is yet to receive the
implementation letter for the presidential directive despite its approval in
August 2025.
Adeyeye spoke on Wednesday while appearing before the senate
committee on finance at an investigative hearing on the remittance of IGR and
operating surplus into the consolidated revenue fund for the 2023-2025 fiscal
years.
The NAFDAC DG said the president approved the refund after
she met with him last August, but the directive has yet to be implemented.
“I went to Mr. President in August last year and showed him
what had been deducted,” Adeyeye said.
“The president authorised that unauthorised deductions
should be returned to NAFDAC and that we should be removed from the
revenue-generating agencies framework. Up till now, we have not received the
implementation letter.”
She said the deductions had significantly affected NAFDAC’s
operations, noting that about N21 billion was deducted directly from payments
made by clients before the funds reached the agency.
According to her, only about N13 billion has been refunded,
leaving NAFDAC unable to settle outstanding liabilities of about N3.9 billion.
“When it started happening, we couldn’t access any money.
They opened a new account for us with zero balance, and we were supposed to
operate NAFDAC on that account,” she said.
“That was when the nightmare began. These are monies that
clients pay, not money that government gave us.”
“Government pays our salaries and we appreciate that. But
because of these deductions, we have not been able to settle liabilities of
about N3.9 billion.”
Adeyeye rejected suggestions that the deductions should be
regarded as advance payments.
“It was not an advance payment. They deducted those monies
before we touched them,” she said.
“These are funds meant for enforcement, post-marketing
surveillance, laboratory testing and inspections. That is not an advance
payment.”
She added that NAFDAC generated about N18.73 billion in
2023, N29.8 billion in 2024 and N39.6 billion in 2025, exceeding its revenue
targets.
Responding, Sani Musa, chairman of the senate committee on
finance, directed NAFDAC to submit the presidential approval to the panel to
enable legislative action aimed at implementing the directive.
“The performance of NAFDAC looks very good,” Musa said.
“The reconciliation needs to be done between the Office of
the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Fiscal Responsibility
Commission so that every agency has a clear understanding of what is expected.”
“All money that is due to the agency should be given to the
agency, and all money that belongs to government should be taken.”
The committee chairman commended NAFDAC for its improved
revenue performance and financial management, while urging the agency to
sustain transparency and accountability in its operations.
‘DEVELOP MEDICINES FROM NIGERIA’S MEDICINAL PLANTS’
During the hearing, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator
representing Kogi central, urged NAFDAC to champion the development of an
indigenous pharmaceutical industry built on Nigeria’s medicinal plants.
The lawmaker said the initiative would strengthen healthcare
delivery, reduce dependence on imported medicines and unlock economic
opportunities.
“NAFDAC should champion the development of an indigenous
pharmaceutical industry by refining and processing our medicinal plants into
capsules, tablets, syrups and other certified medicines,” Akpoti-Uduaghan said.
“We have valuable plants such as moringa, bitter leaf,
dongoyaro (neem), and many others that can be scientifically developed into
quality pharmaceutical products capable of improving healthcare outcomes while
reducing our reliance on imported medicines.”
Responding, Adeyeye agreed that Nigeria has enormous
potential to develop medicines from indigenous plants but said sustained
investment in scientific research, clinical validation, standardisation and
laboratory infrastructure would be required to transform them into safe and
globally accepted pharmaceutical products.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com