NAFDAC Needs 5,000 More Staff to Tackle Rising Regulatory Demands, DG Says.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has raised concerns over a severe manpower shortage, saying the agency lacks sufficient personnel to effectively regulate food, drugs and other regulated products consumed by Nigeria’s growing population.

According to a report by Channels Television, NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed during an interview on Thursday that the agency currently has about 2,000 employees to serve a population of more than 240 million people.

Adeyeye compared Nigeria’s situation with Indonesia, which has a population of about 280 million but employs roughly 20,000 regulatory personnel, stressing that the disparity has placed significant pressure on NAFDAC’s operations.

She said the agency was not seeking to match Indonesia’s workforce but urgently required at least 5,000 additional personnel to strengthen regulatory activities across the country.

“We are not asking for 20,000. We need at least 5,000 more. At least 5,000 more staff,” she said.

The NAFDAC boss explained that the shortage had stretched the agency’s capacity, making it difficult for its officers to maintain an effective physical presence across all parts of the country despite the scale of its responsibilities.

Adeyeye also called for improved funding for the Federal Task Force established to support NAFDAC’s enforcement operations. She noted that although the Federal Task Force C34 Bill was enacted in 2004, it had not received financial support since its establishment.

She said the task force works alongside 36 state task forces to strengthen enforcement and regulatory activities at the subnational level.

The NAFDAC Director General expressed optimism that the Federal Government would address the agency’s manpower and funding challenges, noting that discussions had already been held with the Minister of Finance on the need for increased support.

She stressed that additional personnel and stronger institutional funding would improve NAFDAC’s ability to protect Nigerians from unsafe and substandard products.