By Ester Onyegbula

Eminent traditional rulers, former health sector leaders and pharmaceutical industry stakeholders have called on the Federal Government to urgently strengthen support for Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry to achieve drug security and reduce the country’s heavy dependence on imports.

The call was made on Wednesday at the 2026 Economic Outlook and CEOs Forum of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria, NAIP, held at the Lagos Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, where stakeholders urged government to fast-track its target of attaining 70 per cent local drug production by 2030.

The high-level forum, themed “Reimagining Nigeria’s Health Security: Local Production, Economic Sovereignty and Strategic Partnership,” was held under the distinguished chairmanship of the Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe.

Welcoming participants, Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee, Pharm. Ameh Eghomwanre, described the forum as a solutions-driven platform, stressing that the pharmaceutical industry is ready to invest, expand capacity and create jobs if provided with clear policies and reliable access to foreign exchange.

In his keynote address, the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi II disclosed that about 70 per cent of medicines used in Nigeria are imported, with over 80 per cent sourced from a single country, India. He described the situation as a major national security risk and called for urgent political commitment to establish and scale local pharmaceutical manufacturing.

According to him, excessive reliance on imports exposes the country to supply chain shocks and undermines health security, adding that Nigeria must deliberately build domestic production capacity to protect its population and economy.

Corroborating this view, the Obi of Onitsha warned that overdependence on external sources for medicines threatens not only public health but also Nigeria’s economic sovereignty and resilience, urging sustained investment and ethical leadership in the sector.

Former Minister of Health and elder statesman in the profession, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, described as the “Father of Pharmacy in Nigeria,” said the pharmacy profession was “punching below its weight,” and challenged pharmacists to assert their strategic relevance in shaping national health and industrial policies.

President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, Pharm. Ayuba Tanko Ibrahim, who served as Chief Host, commended the leadership of NAIP under its National Chairman, Pharm. (Sir) Bankole Ezebuilo, noting that the current executive has shown the capacity to build on past foundations and reposition the association for greater impact.

The forum attracted strong regulatory and legislative presence, including the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on NAFDAC, Hon. Uchenna Harris Okonkwo, the Registrar of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, Pharm. Ahmed Babashehu, and the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye.

Also in attendance were past presidents of PSN, leaders of sister pharmaceutical associations, academics and chief executives of major pharmaceutical manufacturing firms, who pledged commitment to the 2030 local production agenda.
In his address, NAIP National Chairman, Pharm. Ezebuilo, said medicines and vaccines had become strategic national assets, not mere procurement items. He stressed that the future of Nigeria’s healthcare system must be driven by innovation, local production, partnerships and sustainability.

He identified access to long-term, patient capital as a major constraint to industry growth, calling for financing structures that can de-risk investments across the pharmaceutical value chain.

Ezebuilo commended the conference planning committee and NAIP’s zonal structures for driving the industrial agenda, and declared that Nigeria could no longer afford to be a spectator in its own health security.

He announced that the 2026 NAIP Annual National Conference would hold in Kwara State in May, insisting that the time for decisive action on local drug production is now.