The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclosed that its recent enforcement operations targeting illicit drug markets in Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba generated approximately N2.5 billion in fines.

NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made the revelation on Wednesday during a session with the House of Representatives Committee on Food and Drug Administration and Control in Abuja.

According to Adeyeye, the funds were collected from traders found guilty of selling fake, expired, or unregistered medicines, as well as those who violated storage and distribution regulations. She emphasised that all fines were paid directly into NAFDAC’s official account.

“The total amount collected was about N2.537 billion. Of that, N996 million was used for enforcement, N159 million borrowed from a donor grant, and N1.18 billion went to regulatory expenses. We were left with N207 million,” she stated.

Health Risks and Regulatory Violations Uncovered

The operations, which deployed over 1,300 security personnel, lasted up to four weeks and uncovered a wide array of health threats including banned drugs like tramadol, expired medicines, and poor storage practices. Adeyeye said the enforcement drive was critical to protecting public health.

“These charges were not punitive but necessary,” she explained. “The standard fine is N2 million for violating Good Distribution and Storage Practices, though in many cases it was reduced to N500,000.”

Kano Operation Followed Court Order

Speaking on NAFDAC’s 2024 enforcement action in Kano, the DG clarified that the agency was executing a court order following a Federal High Court ruling on February 16, 2024. The judgment mandated the relocation of open-market drug sellers to the Kanawa Pharmaceutical Centre, a regulated Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC) in the state.

The Kano operation did not involve fines or administrative charges, she said, due to the urgency of the court directive and volatile resistance from the traders.

“We had no funds at the time because our accounts had just been reopened with a zero balance. Despite that, we had to act. Traders padlocked their shops, and we had to seal them with bigger locks,” Adeyeye recounted.

She added that Kano remains the only state to have completed construction of its CWC as required by a presidential directive, which enabled a different enforcement strategy compared to southern markets where such infrastructure does not yet exist.

Lawmakers Question Transparency

The committee, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the agency’s presentation. Committee Chairman Regina Akume said the financial records were incomplete and ordered NAFDAC to return with a detailed, location-by-location breakdown of the N2.5bn in fines collected.

“We need to know what came in and what went out. The work is not yet completed,” Akume said.

Lawmakers also raised concerns over unequal treatment between northern and southern enforcement zones. Adeyeye rejected claims of bias, citing the judicial nature of the Kano operation and the dangerous resistance NAFDAC officials faced during implementation.

FG Sweeping NAFDAC Funds

In a surprising disclosure, NAFDAC’s Director of Finance and Accounts, Adeniji Nma, said the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) has unilaterally classified the agency as a revenue-generating institution, sweeping up to 75% of its earnings into the federal treasury.

“We’ve written several letters stating that NAFDAC is a health-focused agency, not revenue-generating. Client payments are often tied directly to specific services. But our exemption hasn’t been granted,” she lamented.

The committee session ended with a directive for NAFDAC to submit a comprehensive financial report at its next appearance, including a full breakdown of expenditures and revenue from its market raids.