Nigeria Targets 70% Local Drug Production as Pate, Oduwole, Enoh, Salako Lead 8th Pharma Manufacturers Expo
By Naomi Onome
Nigeria is intensifying efforts to achieve 70 per cent local production of medicines as top government officials, pharmaceutical manufacturers and global industry stakeholders prepare for the 8th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo (NPME 2026) in Lagos.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, are expected to lead other senior government officials and industry stakeholders to the two-day event scheduled for September 28 and 29, 2026, at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Also expected are the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh; Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako; Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Moji Christianah Adeyeye; Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), Pharm. Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed; the Special Adviser to the President on Health; and the Director-General of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), among other senior officials.
Organised by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), in partnership with GPE Expo Pvt. Ltd., the expo will run alongside the Nigeria Lab Expo under the theme, “Regional Manufacturing: Advancing Africa’s Pharma & Lifescience Sovereignty through Localization.”
The event is expected to attract more than 200 companies and nearly 10,000 healthcare professionals, pharmaceutical manufacturers, regulatory experts, investors, technology providers and equipment manufacturers from across five continents.
Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos, Chairman of the NPME Committee, Pharm. Patrick Ajah, who represented the Chief Host, Oluwatosin Jolayemi, said the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector was working towards producing 70 per cent of the medicines consumed in Nigeria locally.
According to him, the expo would provide a platform for attracting foreign direct investment, facilitating technical partnerships, promoting local sourcing of raw materials and strengthening the capacity of domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Ajah said the initiative was particularly important in view of the lessons from recent global health emergencies, which exposed the vulnerability of countries heavily dependent on foreign suppliers for essential medicines.
He said Nigerian manufacturers remained committed to international Good Manufacturing Practice standards, adding that quality control, quality assurance and supply-chain systems were being strengthened to ensure that locally manufactured medicines meet required standards.
He also warned that manufacturers and distributors involved in the production or circulation of counterfeit and substandard medicines would face regulatory and law enforcement action.
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of PMG-MAN, Pharm. Frank Muonemeh, said Nigeria had already recorded significant progress in reducing its dependence on imported finished pharmaceutical products.
Muonemeh, citing official NAFDAC data, said imports of finished pharmaceutical products had fallen from 4.03 billion units to 1.13 billion units as of 2025, bringing the ratio of imported to locally produced essential medicines to approximately 50:50.
He described the development as evidence that Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturers possess the technical capacity to meet a substantial proportion of domestic demand when provided with the right policy and business environment.
Muonemeh also noted that improvements in Nigeria’s regulatory framework had strengthened the country’s pharmaceutical manufacturing prospects, with NAFDAC attaining World Health Organisation Maturity Level 3 and working towards Level 4.
He said the improved regulatory environment had enabled some Nigerian pharmaceutical companies to secure WHO prequalification and undertake contract manufacturing for international brands.
However, he warned that continued dependence on imported medicines remained a threat to Nigeria’s health security, particularly during pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, border closures and disruptions in global supply chains.
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He argued that building a resilient domestic pharmaceutical industry should no longer be regarded merely as an economic objective but as a critical component of national health security and sovereignty.
Muonemeh identified high energy costs, limited access to long-term financing, regulatory bottlenecks, shortage of technical manpower partly driven by the “Japa” phenomenon and inconsistent public procurement policies as some of the major challenges confronting local manufacturers.
He disclosed that pharmaceutical manufacturers currently spend more than 40 per cent of their income on electricity and alternative power generation, compared with less than 10 per cent reportedly spent by manufacturers in countries such as China and India.
He therefore called for targeted government interventions, including dedicated industrial energy tariffs, to reduce production costs and improve the competitiveness of Nigerian pharmaceutical companies.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Drugfield Pharma Ltd, Pharm. Olusola Akande, urged the Federal Government to expand incentives for local production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and specialised excipients.
Akande said existing interventions, including the Presidential Executive Order, currently covered only about five per cent of the APIs and specialised excipients required by local manufacturers.
He called for expanded tax exemptions and other incentives to encourage domestic production of pharmaceutical raw materials, saying the measures would increase manufacturing capacity, lower production costs and ultimately make medicines more affordable.
PMG-MAN also appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to extend the Presidential Executive Order from two years to five years, arguing that a longer policy window would give manufacturers the certainty required to make sustained capital investments and undertake industrial expansion.
Muonemeh said NPME 2026 would differ from conventional trade fairs by focusing on technologies and partnerships capable of directly supporting local pharmaceutical production rather than providing a marketplace for imported finished medicines.
He said foreign exhibitors would primarily comprise companies supplying pharmaceutical machinery, analytical instruments, production materials and technologies that are either unavailable or inadequately produced in Nigeria.
According to him, the approach would ensure that international participation at the expo translates into technology transfer, contract manufacturing agreements, local pharmaceutical synthesis, investment and increased production capacity.
The organisers said the expo would also provide opportunities for cross-border partnerships, investment, technology acquisition and market expansion while promoting greater integration of Africa’s pharmaceutical industry under the African Continental Free Trade Area and the African Medicines Agency framework.
Ajah noted that PMG-MAN had, over its 43-year history, played a major role in advocating stronger pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria, growing from 20 pioneer members in 1983 to more than 200 companies.
He said the growth of the sector had contributed to employment generation, tax revenue and a gradual reduction in the country’s dependence on imported medicines.
He stressed that achieving the 70 per cent local production target was critical not only to Nigeria’s pharmaceutical and industrial development but also to the country’s long-term health security.
The organisers have consequently invited global healthcare investors, biotechnology companies, venture capitalists, raw material suppliers, equipment manufacturers, development finance institutions and African policymakers to participate in the Lagos expo.
They expressed optimism that the participation of senior officials from the health and industry sectors would further reinforce the Federal Government’s commitment to building a resilient domestic pharmaceutical industry and positioning Nigeria as a leading healthcare manufacturing hub in Africa.
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