By Chioma Vivian James
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have renewed and expanded their strategic partnership to strengthen regulatory oversight of pharmaceutical products, food items and other consumables produced within Nigeria’s Free Trade Zones (FTZs).
The renewed collaboration was formalised during a high-level meeting between the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NEPZA, Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi, at the Authority’s headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting focused on tightening compliance systems, strengthening inter-agency coordination and preventing the infiltration of counterfeit, substandard and unregistered products into Nigeria’s markets through the Free Trade Zones.
Speaking during the engagement, Prof. Adeyeye said the partnership was necessary to reinforce NAFDAC’s statutory responsibility to regulate the importation, exportation, manufacture, distribution, advertisement and sale of regulated products within the zones and across the country.
She stressed that the growing sophistication of illicit pharmaceutical and consumable supply chains required stronger institutional cooperation and intelligence-sharing among government agencies.
According to her, protecting Nigerians from fake drugs and unsafe products must remain a national priority.
“We must regard this engagement as a collective responsibility to safeguard public health and prevent fake drugs and unsafe consumables from infiltrating our markets through any channel,” she stated.
The NAFDAC Director-General reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to enforcing strict compliance with approved standards and global best practices across all regulated industries operating within the Free Trade Zones.
She noted that effective regulation within the zones had become increasingly important as Nigeria positions itself as a major manufacturing and export hub under regional and international trade frameworks.
Prof. Adeyeye further observed that stronger collaboration between both agencies would help eliminate operational and regulatory gaps through coordinated inspections, improved monitoring systems, enhanced facility management and stricter production-line compliance mechanisms.
She also emphasised the need to ensure that pharmaceutical and food products entering Nigeria’s customs territory from the FTZs meet required safety, quality and efficacy standards.
Responding, Dr. Ogunyemi welcomed NAFDAC’s renewed commitment and reaffirmed NEPZA’s readiness to support all lawful regulatory and enforcement activities aimed at protecting public health and preserving the integrity of the Free Trade Zone scheme.
He described the FTZ programme — comprising 63 licensed zones and over 900 enterprises nationwide — as a critical driver of industrialisation, foreign direct investment, job creation and non-oil export growth.
While acknowledging the complexities associated with regulating such a vast industrial ecosystem, Ogunyemi stressed that NEPZA would continue to resist any attempt to use the zones as safe havens for illicit trade, counterfeiting or other unlawful activities.
“We need a stronger joint framework to address emerging irregularities within the zones. NEPZA will continue to provide the necessary support for NAFDAC to carry out its regulatory mandate because public health and national economic integrity are paramount,” he said.
He added that the renewed collaboration would further align Nigeria’s Free Trade Zone operations with international compliance standards and enhance investor confidence in the country’s export manufacturing environment.
As part of the renewed partnership, both agencies confirmed the establishment of an eight-member technical committee mandated to identify and resolve operational bottlenecks affecting the seamless implementation of regulatory responsibilities within the Free Trade Zones.
The committee is expected to develop actionable recommendations to improve coordination, compliance enforcement, product traceability and information-sharing between both institutions.
Industry stakeholders believe the strengthened collaboration between NEPZA and NAFDAC could significantly improve product quality assurance, curb the circulation of counterfeit medicines and reinforce Nigeria’s reputation as a credible manufacturing and export destination .