I inherited N3.2bn debt at NAFDAC when I took over – DG

Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General (DG) of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), revealed that she inherited a debt of N3.2 billion when she assumed leadership of the agency.

Adeyeye made this disclosure during an interview on Channels Television’s “Inside Sources” program, hosted by Laolu Akande.

She became the DG of NAFDAC in 2017, succeeding Ademola Magbojuri, who had been acting in the role. Magbojuri had taken over from Yetunde Oni, who served in an interim capacity for 18 months following the dismissal of Paul Orhii, the previous DG, who was removed amid allegations of financial mismanagement.

“When I arrived at NAFDAC, I encountered a N3.2 billion debt and discovered that N500 million was missing, with no records to account for it,” Adeyeye stated.

“I inquired whether any capital projects had been funded with the missing money. To put it in context, at that time, N1 million was equivalent to $2,000. So, you can imagine what $2,000 multiplied by N500 million amounts to.”

Coming from the United States, where finances were tightly managed, Adeyeye noted that she could have given up but saw an opportunity to turn things around.

“It was challenging because, in the U.S., NAFDAC would have been declared bankrupt, and a financial institution would have taken over our finances. But I didn’t have the resources to hire such help,” she added.

To address the situation, Adeyeye cut down on the agency’s excessive spending, including implementing Zoom meetings in 2018 to reduce travel expenses.

“My point is that we have sufficient resources in this country to improve our systems, and NAFDAC is just one example,” she said. “I was determined to streamline operations and leverage technology to keep us moving forward.”

“While many were resistant to the changes, especially as it affected travel allowances and Daily Travel Allowances (DTAs), the measures were necessary to save costs.”