Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has rejected calls for her resignation, saying she returned to Nigeria after 34 years in the United States because she wanted to contribute to restoring the country’s image.

Adeyeye, who spoke during an engagement with journalists on Monday, said she had retired happily after spending about 30 years as a professor in the US before deciding to return home to serve.

She said her decision was motivated by service rather than personal gain and challenged anyone accusing her of demanding money from contractors to provide evidence.

Adeyeye said she had inherited significant financial and operational challenges when she assumed office in 2017, including about ₦3.2 billion in outstanding liabilities.

She added that between 70 and 80 per cent of NAFDAC’s laboratory equipment was not functioning at the time, while the agency’s ICT infrastructure was also inadequate.

The NAFDAC boss said about ₦3.1 billion of the inherited liabilities had been cleared by November 2018.

She also highlighted improvements in the agency’s regulatory capacity, saying NAFDAC moved from maturity level one to level three by March 2022, becoming the third agency in Africa to attain the level.

Adeyeye said NAFDAC subsequently became an affiliate member of the International Medical Device Regulators Forum in 2023 and joined the International Council for Harmonisation in 2025.

She said the developments had improved the agency’s international reputation, noting that regulatory authorities now had greater confidence in NAFDAC.

The NAFDAC director-general also pointed to the agency’s enforcement activities, including the destruction of counterfeit products valued at more than ₦1.5 trillion over the past three years.

Her comments came amid calls for her resignation and criticism of NAFDAC’s handling of counterfeit and substandard products, as well as some of its regulatory policies.

Adeyeye, however, maintained that she remained committed to the agency’s mandate of protecting Nigerians and strengthening the country’s regulatory system.