Nigeria’s dependence on imported medicines has come under renewed criticism as pharmaceutical experts demanded urgent executive action to revive local drug manufacturing and strengthen healthcare security.
Speaking at the 29th Annual National Conference of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria, United States-based pharmaceutical scientist, Dr. Nonye Onyewuenyi, and former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, warned that Nigeria’s continued reliance on imported drugs now poses a major threat to national health security and industrial growth.
The experts noted that over 70 percent of medicines consumed in Nigeria are still imported despite the country’s huge pharmaceutical potential. They identified foreign exchange instability, rising production costs, weak infrastructure, and poor policy implementation as major obstacles crippling local manufacturers.
Dr. Onyewuenyi said Nigeria has the human capacity, raw materials, and industrial base to become self-sufficient in medicine production, but stressed that weak political will and poor execution continue to slow progress.
She urged the Federal Government to move beyond policy declarations and aggressively fund the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain and other healthcare reform programmes.
She also called for stronger investment in pharmaceutical research, local API production, laboratory infrastructure, and internationally compliant manufacturing systems.
According to her, Nigeria must adopt science-driven production standards capable of guaranteeing safe, quality medicines while positioning the country as a pharmaceutical hub in Africa.
On the management side, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa challenged pharmaceutical companies to abandon outdated administrative systems and embrace performance-driven leadership. He stressed that survival in the industry now depends on disciplined execution, measurable targets, continuous monitoring, and accountability.
Ohuabunwa further urged industry leaders to institutionalize merit-based systems, strengthen workforce productivity, and maintain strict data integrity, warning that falsified records and operational compromise could endanger lives.
The experts also advocated stronger collaboration among manufacturers, universities, research institutions, and regulatory agencies including the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development.
They called for government-backed incentives such as tax support, pharmaceutical industrial parks, and long-term investment policies to stimulate local manufacturing and reduce dependence on imported medicines.
National Chairman of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria, Pharm. Bankole Ezebuiro, commended the presentations, describing them as practical roadmaps for repositioning Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry for sustainable growth.
The conference ended with renewed calls for bold reforms, strategic investment, and deliberate implementation capable of transforming Nigeria into a leading pharmaceutical manufacturing hub on the African continent.
