FG Targets 70% Local Drug Production by 2029

The Federal Government has signalled plans to extend the Presidential Executive Order on pharmaceutical manufacturing by two years, to March 2029, in a renewed push to achieve medicine security, cut Nigeria's heavy drug import dependence, and position the country as West Africa's pharmaceutical manufacturing hub.

The indication was given at the 8th Nigeria Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Expo (NPME) 2026, held on September 28 and 29 in Lagos, where manufacturers, regulators, investors, policymakers, and development partners renewed calls for sustained policies and investment to strengthen local production. The event, organised by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), attracted more than 200 exhibitors and focused on advancing regional manufacturing, localisation, and Africa's pharmaceutical and life sciences sovereignty.

Declaring the expo open, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, reaffirmed the Federal Government's commitment to expanding domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing as a pathway to medicine security, healthcare resilience, and economic development. He stressed the need to strengthen capacity across the entire pharmaceutical value chain, from research and development, innovation, and sourcing of active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients, to formulation, manufacturing, and quality assurance. Salako also called for increased investment in advanced production areas, including biologics, vaccines, and other critical health technologies, while urging stronger regional cooperation to address regulatory barriers limiting access to African markets.

In his welcome address, NPME 2026 Chairman, Dr Patrick Ajah, said no nation can achieve sustainable greatness without manufacturing what its citizens consume, describing the pharmaceutical sector as fundamental to national development. He recalled that Nigeria's drug consumption had historically been skewed towards imports, with about 70 per cent of medicines imported and only 30 per cent produced locally, though he said public-private collaboration over the past two years had begun shifting that balance.

PMG-MAN Chairman, Oluwatosin Jolayemi, said the Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturing sector was undergoing significant transformation, noting that the group now represents more than 200 local manufacturing companies. He said the gains recorded by the industry must be protected through policy consistency and a predictable investment environment, particularly as manufacturers continue contending with high energy and production costs, supply-chain challenges, port inefficiencies, limited access to long-term capital, and market-access constraints. Jolayemi appealed directly to the Federal Government to extend the Presidential Executive Order, whose current policy window is set to expire in March 2027, by another two years, to enable manufacturers deepen investments, expand production capacity, and consolidate gains in medicine security.

Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, represented by the Director of Chemical and Non-Pharmaceutical Industry, John Okpe Oluwa, said the Federal Government was committed to moving Nigeria from an import-dependent market towards greater self-sufficiency under the Renewed Hope Agenda. He said government is targeting 70 per cent domestic production of essential medicines, while developing a resilient ecosystem capable of meeting the country's medical needs and eventually expanding pharmaceutical exports into West Africa and the wider African market through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He listed proposed interventions to support the target, including expanded tax exemptions, tariff waivers on raw materials and machinery, incentives for backward integration in producing active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients, and dedicated pharmaceutical intervention funds.

Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, disclosed that 37 local manufacturing facilities are currently undergoing retrofitting and construction upgrades to meet international standards. She said NAFDAC had made significant progress toward WHO global benchmarking and strengthened regulatory enforcement against non-compliant facilities, while reforms under the agency's "5+5" policy had contributed to reducing drug importation and encouraging local manufacturers to improve their standards. She stressed that Nigeria could not afford to reverse the gains recorded in local pharmaceutical manufacturing and urged intensified efforts toward producing vaccines and other critical health commodities domestically.

At the continental level, Director-General of the African Medicines Agency, Dr Delese Mimi Darko, called for stronger regulatory cooperation among African countries to accelerate access to quality-assured medicines and create a more integrated pharmaceutical market, stressing that the Agency was established to strengthen and coordinate national regulatory systems rather than replace them.

Representing the Lagos State Government, Special Adviser on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, pledged continued state support for the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, particularly in addressing energy costs, infrastructure, long-term financing, skilled manpower, and regulatory predictability.

As part of the summit's outcomes, PMG-MAN unveiled its Industry Self-Regulation Quality Plus (ISRQ+) Project, which includes a five-year Medicine Security Industry Advocacy Strategy for 2027-2031, a dedicated ISRQ+ laboratory, and a Data Repository and Learning Centre designed to strengthen industry intelligence, quality capacity, evidence-based advocacy, and continuous learning, with various components expected to be commissioned progressively within the next six to ten months.

With the expo now concluded, PMG-MAN said its focus will shift toward translating the progress recorded in domestic manufacturing into a stronger, more integrated, and competitive regional pharmaceutical ecosystem, while preparations continue for the 9th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo in 2028.