This year’s gathering was anchored on the timely and transformative theme:

“Pharmaceutical Innovation as a Catalyst for National Development.”

The series of events brought together distinguished leaders, professionals, policymakers, and scholars from across Nigeria and the global pharmaceutical community to reflect on how innovation in pharmacy and healthcare can drive economic diversification, job creation, and national progress.

A Celebration of Legacy and Leadership

The 2025 edition was particularly significant as it featured a Valedictory Session in honour of the late Pharm. Chief Oludolapo Ibukun Akinkugbe, CFR, FNAPharm, was the revered founding President of the Academy and a towering figure whose vision, mentorship, and integrity shaped generations of pharmacists and national leaders.

Fellows and dignitaries offered passionate tributes to Chief Akinkugbe’s legacy of excellence, enduring influence on healthcare systems, and lifelong commitment to professionalism, ethics, and nation-building.

Speaking at the Valedictory Session, Prof. Lere Baale, President and Chairman of the Governing Council of NAPHARM, described Chief Akinkugbe as “a pharmacist, leader, and statesman whose life exemplified grace, discipline, and visionary service to humanity.”

Keynote Address: Innovation as an Engine of Growth

The highlight of the Investiture Ceremony was the Keynote Address delivered by Mr Wale Oyedeji, Group Managing Director of First HoldCo Plc, who spoke on “Pharmaceutical Innovation as a Catalyst for National Development.”

In his address, Mr Oyedeji underscored the critical role of research, local manufacturing, digital health, and investment in building a resilient pharmaceutical value chain that supports Nigeria’s industrial and health security goals.

He emphasised that “pharmaceutical innovation is not only about developing new drugs but also about creating an ecosystem that supports knowledge, entrepreneurship, and collaboration across public and private sectors.”

He called on government, academia, investors, and practitioners to align strategies to harness Nigeria’s demographic advantage and intellectual capital for sustainable development.

New Fellows Inducted into the Academy

A significant highlight of the event was the induction of new Fellows into the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy. These distinguished professionals were recognised for their outstanding contributions to pharmacy education, research, practice, policy, and entrepreneurship.

The 14 new Distinguished Fellows include:

Pharm. Dr Samuel Oluwaoromipin Adekola, Pharm. Yedunni Abimbola Adenuga; Pharm. Dr Adenike Olubisi Adenuga; Pharm. Dr Victor Gbenga Afolabi, Pharm. Prof. Ezekiel Olugbenga Akinkunmi; Pharm. Dr Umoru Barde Ali, Pharm. Prof. Olufunsho Awodele, Pharm. Jaiyeola Adetunji Doherty; Pharm. Dr Monica Hemben Eimunjeze, Pharm. Ayuba Tanko Ibrahim; Pharm. Dr Thomas Omotayo Ilupeju, Pharm. Dr Wilson Ishima, Pharm. Steve Azubuike Okoronko, and Pharm. (Mrs.) Olayinka Folashade Oredola.

4 Honorary Fellows include Pharm Elder Ebenezer Adeleke, Pharm Alfred Oladeji Osinoiki, Chief Varkey Verghese MFR, and Alhaji Sayyid Atana.

The 3 Lifetime Achievements Awardees were Pharm Prof Gabriel Osuide, Pharm Asiwaju Theophilous Adebowale Omotosho, and Dr Fidelis Ayebae.

Prof. Lere Baale, while congratulating the new Fellows and Lifetime Achievement Awardees, noted that “the Academy remains a think tank for advancing pharmaceutical excellence, knowledge translation, and health system innovation in Nigeria and across Africa.” He urged the new Fellows to carry forward the ideals of integrity, scholarship, and service that define the Academy’s ethos.

A Gathering of Excellence and Unity

The event drew a constellation of distinguished personalities from academia, industry, and government, including:

•Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, OFR, mni, FPSN, Founding President, Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy;

•Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General, NAFDAC;

•Pharm. Sir Ike Onyechi, FPSN, FPCPharm, FNAPharm;

•Pharm. (Chief) Olubunmi Olaopa, FPSN;

•Pharm. Prof. Fola Tayo, MFR, FPSN;

•Pharm. Prof. Cecilia Igwilo, OFR, FPSN;

•and other eminent Fellows and guests.

The event featured moments of reflection, inspiring speeches, awards, and musical interludes that highlighted the intellectual and cultural vibrancy of the profession.

Advancing the Future of Pharmacy and National Development

The 2025 AGM and Investiture reaffirmed the Academy’s mission as a beacon of thought leadership and advocacy for integrating pharmaceutical science into national development planning.

In his closing remarks, Prof. Baale noted:

“Pharmacy holds the power to shape the future of Nigeria’s healthcare, innovation, and industrial growth. When we invest in pharmaceutical innovation, we are not just advancing science — we are securing our nation’s health, economy, and dignity.”

The gathering concluded with a renewed commitment to collaboration, mentorship, and policy advocacy to strengthen Nigeria’s health systems and inspire the next generation of innovators.

…Says Agency Already Has Strengthened Regulatory System for Vaccines, Biologics, and Medical Devices Through Restructuring and Global Benchmarking.

The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has challenged manufacturers of pharmaceutical products in the country to take the necessary investment decisions that will facilitate the production of human vaccines in Nigeria.

She warned that Nigeria should not wait for another pandemic before it gets prepared and avoid being caught unawares, as witnessed during COVID-19, when the country depended on international donors to survive the scourge.

As was contained in a press release by Sayo Akintola

Resident Media Consultant NAFDAC, the DG explained,

“When I came to NAFDAC, we had the Registration and Regulatory Affairs Directorate, which was in charge of registration of all NAFDAC-regulated products, meaning the registration of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, herbal medicines, vaccines, veterinary products, pesticides, and other finished chemicals was under one Director, which made the system susceptible to ineffectiveness and corruption”

“I first carved out the Food Registration and Regulatory Affairs Directorate, and what was left over was still huge. Adding that if you want good governance and leadership, you must have governable units, governable groups. One Director overseeing seven regulated products will not achieve the necessary efficiency. “

“That was why we knew that we had to separate vaccines and medical devices from the Drug Registration and Regulatory Affairs Directorate.

NAFDAC became Maturity Level 3 in 2022 for medicines and imported vaccines. For NAFDAC to be benchmarked for vaccines, biologics and medical devices, she explained that we had to have a separate Directorate headed by a director to ensure that we align with international best practices, and we are operating at the same level as advanced countries of the world.

She disclosed that the Agency had to separate Vaccines, Biologics, and Medical Devices in November 2024 to form one directorate, following the Head of Service of the Federations assessment, evaluation, and sanction, to ensure that it would be a viable Directorate with operating units. “

The DG expressed the hope that the nation would manufacture vaccines before she leaves office, saying that It will be exciting news for me, because during the pandemic we were too dependent on foreign countries. We couldnt get any vaccines unless from outside the country.

That was when the preparedness for epidemics became a reality for us.

She stated that the Agency now has guidelines for emergency preparedness for epidemics and pandemics. Still, she warned that if theres another pandemic now and Nigeria is not yet manufacturing human vaccines, despite having manufactured veterinary vaccines since 1924, the country will again be at the mercy of other countries.

During the pandemic, we ran up and down to see whether we could start manufacturing vaccines, but things did not work out, she said, adding that we must decide as a country that we will not be too dependent on others. We will manufacture our own.

 According to her, there has been a movement to do that, but this has not come to reality. Thats why I pray that before my tenure is over, we will be manufacturing vaccines.

According to her, any country that wants to manufacture vaccines that will be pre-qualified by the WHO must have a regulatory system with at least Maturity Level 3 status. She added that the fact that we now have ML3 for medicines and imported vaccines in 2022 brought us to the discussion of manufacturing vaccines.

She explained that, as a country, we had to fulfil the requirements of nine modules in the WHO Global Benchmarking Tool, one of which is Licensing Establishments for the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), and NAFDAC had the remaining eight.

She pointed out that the ML3 we achieved was for seven of the eight, emphasizing that we have not been benchmarked for locally manufactured vaccines.

Prof. Adeyeye noted that NAFDAC is the only National Regulatory Agency (NRA) in sub-Saharan Africa that has an in-house laboratory for vaccines, biologics, and medical devices.

She said the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has a laboratory for vaccines but contracted it out to private operators.

We are working towards getting our ML3 for locally manufactured vaccines. We already have ML3 for medicines and imported vaccines since 2022.

 WHO came last year, they saw everything that we have as a regulatory agency on indicators for vaccine Lot Release; we have almost satisfied everything except that the country must manufacture vaccines because its when we manufacture vaccines that we can do local facility inspections.

She said NAFDAC has been conducting Lot Release testing on imported vaccines in her lab for years, adding that the WHO wants to know that we can also effectively monitor locally manufactured ones.

 This is where we are as a country, and I pray that within a short time, we will be able to manufacture our own vaccines.

Speaking in the same vein, Mrs. Khadijah Ade-Abolade, Director of Vaccines, Biologics, and Medical Devices Registration and Regulatory Affairs, stated that the federal government is playing a strategic role to ensure that local vaccine manufacturing takes off in the country.

She stated that the policy has been established, and support is being provided to ensure that vaccine manufacturing takes off in Nigeria.

According to her, the important thing is the regulatory framework, which is already established by NAFDAC and is well-functioning for imported vaccines, and which will also be applied to local vaccines when manufacturing starts in the country.

All the required regulatory functions for the regulation of vaccines are already available. We have our market authorisation, which is the registration that we do; the Inspectorate arm of the Agency conducts regulatory inspections.

We have Clinical trial oversight, which is crucial for vaccine regulation, as well as Post-Market Surveillance and Pharmacovigilance, because we need to monitor the safety and efficacy of our vaccines.

Mrs. Ade-Abolade maintained that the regulatory system for local vaccine manufacture is already well established in the country, stressing that We are just waiting for the manufacturing operations to start by the manufacturers.

“The Director General further emphasized that we have the capability to manufacture vaccines.

The country can start with Fill and Finish while planning on the greenfield.

We have sound scientists. We have our President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, who is encouraging local manufacturing as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda. Now is the time to get it done.”