The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control on Wednesday disclosed that the raid it carried out on illicit drug markets in Lagos, Onitsha and Aba generated about N2.5bn.
The Director-General of the agency, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye made the disclosure while speaking at a session in Abuja organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Food and Drug Administration and Control.
She added that the money was derived from fines collected from traders found guilty of selling fake or substandard drugs during recent enforcement actions in open markets across the country.
While stressing that all funds were paid directly into NAFDAC’s official account, she noted that N996m was spent on enforcement operations, N159m was borrowed from a donor grant, and N1.18bn went to regulatory expenses.
NAFDAC, she said, was left with N207m after these deductions were made.
She said the operation, which deployed over 1,300 security personnel, uncovered widespread violations ranging from expired and unapproved drugs to poor storage practices.
“The charges collected were paid directly into a NAFDAC account. The total amount was about N2.5bn—roughly N2.537bn.
“For the operation in the three markets—Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba—about N996m was spent. We had to borrow N159m from an existing grant because we didn’t have funds. In addition, regulatory expenses amounted to N1.18bn.
“So, out of the N2.54bn, we have only about N207m left in the account.”, she said.
Adeyeye said the enforcement drive, which lasted up to four weeks in some locations, uncovered serious threats to public health.
She added that some shop owners were caught distributing banned substances like tramadol and selling expired or unregistered medicines.
“These charges were not punitive but necessary. The standard fine for violating Good Distribution and Storage Practice is N2m, but in many cases, we reduced it to N500,000,” she said.
Lamenting the financial challenges being faced by the agency, Adeyeye stated that at the end of 2023, NAFDAC had N19bn in its accounts.
The DG however noted that N9bn was removed before the agency could access it, and only N4.5 billion was eventually released.
Speaking of the agency’s 2024 raid in Kano, she described the operation as a court-mandated intervention that differed significantly from the raids conducted in Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba.
She said the Kano raid was anchored on a judgment delivered on February 16, 2024, by the Federal High Court which ordered the relocation of open drug market traders to the newly constructed Coordinated Wholesale Centre known as the Kanawa Pharmaceutical Centre.
“The traders initially resisted. There were real threats of violence. But we had no choice; we had to act. They padlocked their shops but we bought bigger padlocks and sealed them. To reopen, they had to agree to relocate,” she said.
Adeyeye clarified that no administrative charges or fines were collected during the Kano enforcement, due to the urgent and court-directed nature of the operation.
“These are the lives we are trying to save. We had no funds at the time because our accounts had just been shut down and reopened with zero balance at the start of January 2024. Yet, we had to carry out the court judgment and move over 1,300 shops into the regulated centre,” she said.
The DG added that Kano was the only state that had built its CWC as mandated by a presidential directive, long before her tenure began.
“In the South, Lagos, Onitsha, Aba, there was no CWC. So our approach was different. We had time to prepare, inspect, and charge offenders according to their violations,” she explained.
Responding to lawmakers’ concerns that Kano traders were treated more leniently compared to the operations in the southern part of the country, she dismissed the insinuation, stating that the court had a lot to do with what happened in Kano.
“In retrospect, yes, we could have done more inspections or collected administrative fees. But that wasn’t feasible under the circumstances. Even a legal officer was almost killed at the court premises. It was a volatile situation,” she added.
Clarifying the financial situation of the agency, Director of Finance and Accounts, NAFDAC, Adeniji Nma, said the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation had unilaterally classified NAFDAC as a revenue-generating agency and begun sweeping up to 50 per cent of all revenue inflows into the federal treasury.
She said, “There was an order from OAGF. They have recruited us as a revenue-generating agency. And we have been writing several letters that we are not actually a revenue-generating agency, we are just for the health of the nation.
“Part of our money is tied to our clients. When they pay for inspections or one service or the other, it is tied directly to that service. But up till now, they have not yet approved our exemption.
“In 2024, they began taking 50 per cent of every revenue generated by NAFDAC automatically. When money drops from a client, half goes straight to the treasury. Suddenly, in 2025, we found out they are now taking up to 75 per cent of every inflow. Because of it, we find it difficult to do most of our operations.”
A member of the committee, Emeka Idu, thereafter requested a detailed breakdown of the revenue generated from each location where fines were collected during the enforcement operations but the agency was unable to do so.
The Chairman of the Committee, Regina Akume, described NAFDAC’s presentation as incomplete.
“The work has not been completed. I would like to give you a chance to go back and work on this. How much did you paid into the account. What goes in and what goes out. We haven’t talked about that,” she said.
The Committee directed the agency to return with a comprehensive, location-by-location account of the N2.5bn generated from the raids.
