The Federal Government has indicated plans to extend by two years the Presidential Executive Order supporting local pharmaceutical manufacturing, as Nigeria seeks to increase domestic production of essential medicines and establish itself as a regional pharmaceutical manufacturing hub.
The proposed extension, which would take the policy beyond its current March 2027 expiration, is expected to give manufacturers more policy certainty to expand production capacity, deepen investment and strengthen Nigeria’s medicine security.
The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMGMAN) made the appeal at the 8th Nigeria Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Expo (NPME) 2026, held on September 28 and 29 at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The two-day expo, which attracted more than 200 exhibitors, brought together pharmaceutical manufacturers, regulators, government officials, investors and development partners to discuss local production, regional market access and Africa’s pharmaceutical and life sciences sovereignty.
The PMGMAN Chairman, Oluwatosin Jolayemi, said the industry had recorded significant transformation but warned that the gains could be undermined without policy consistency and a predictable investment environment.
Jolayemi said PMGMAN now represented more than 200 local pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, adding that manufacturers were still facing high energy and production costs, supply-chain constraints, port inefficiencies, limited access to long-term financing and difficulties accessing wider markets.
He urged the Federal Government to extend the Executive Order for another two years to enable manufacturers deepen investments, expand capacity and consolidate progress in local medicine production.
According to him, Nigeria’s ambition to become a regional pharmaceutical manufacturing hub requires a competitive, scalable and resilient domestic manufacturing ecosystem.
He called for coordinated action among government, regulators, manufacturers, financial institutions and development partners to remove structural barriers and move the industry beyond meeting domestic demand to competing in regional and global markets.
Declaring the expo open, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing as a means of improving medicine security, healthcare resilience and economic development.
Salako said Nigeria needed to strengthen the entire pharmaceutical value chain, from research and development and innovation to the sourcing of active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients, formulation, manufacturing and quality assurance.
He also called for greater investment in advanced pharmaceutical production, including biologics, vaccines and other critical health technologies.
The minister stressed the importance of regional cooperation in removing regulatory barriers that limit the movement of medicines and manufacturers’ access to African markets.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, represented by the Director of Chemical and Non-Pharmaceutical Industry, John Okpe Oluwa, said the Federal Government was working to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported medicines under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the government was targeting 70 per cent domestic production of essential medicines, with increased local manufacturing expected to create a platform for expanding pharmaceutical exports to West Africa and other African markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Enoh listed proposed government interventions to support the sector, including expanded tax exemptions, tariff waivers on raw materials and machinery, incentives for backward integration in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients, and dedicated pharmaceutical intervention funds.
He added that the government was working with regulatory bodies, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), to ensure locally manufactured medicines meet international standards and become more competitive in export markets.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, disclosed that 37 local pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities were undergoing retrofitting and construction upgrades to bring them closer to international standards.
Adeyeye said NAFDAC had also recorded progress towards the World Health Organisation’s global benchmarking requirements while strengthening enforcement against non-compliant facilities.
She said reforms under the 5+5 policy had contributed to reducing dependence on imported medicines and encouraged local manufacturers to improve their production standards.
Adeyeye warned against reversing the progress made in domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing, stressing the need for Nigeria to intensify efforts to produce vaccines and other critical health commodities locally.
At the continental level, the Director-General of the African Medicines Agency, Dr Delese Mimi Darko, called for stronger regulatory cooperation among African countries to improve access to quality-assured medicines and create a more integrated pharmaceutical market.
Darko explained that the African Medicines Agency was established to strengthen and coordinate national regulatory systems rather than replace them.
She said regulatory harmonisation would make it easier for pharmaceutical manufacturers to access markets across Africa, while urging manufacturers to invest in research and development, technology transfer, skilled manpower, intellectual property and quality systems.
She said localisation should go beyond simply manufacturing medicines within Africa to building the technological, human and institutional capacity required to sustain the industry.
The Lagos State Government, represented by the Special Adviser on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, pledged continued support for pharmaceutical manufacturers, particularly in addressing energy costs, infrastructure, access to long-term financing, skilled manpower and regulatory predictability.
The expo also featured a founders and industry leaders session involving pharmaceutical industry leaders, including Dr Stella Okoli of Emzor Pharmaceuticals, Dr Fidelis Ayebae of Fidson Plc, Dr Olakunle Ekundayo of Drugfield Pharmaceuticals and Elder Varkey Verghese of Jawal International Limited.
The session focused on leadership, investment, innovation, succession planning and the challenges of building sustainable pharmaceutical businesses in Africa.
PMGMAN also unveiled its Industry Self-Regulation Quality Plus (ISRQ+) Project, which includes a five-year Medicine Security Industry Advocacy Strategy for 2027–2031, an ISRQ+ laboratory and a Data Repository and Learning Centre.
The association said the initiative would strengthen industry intelligence, quality capacity, evidence-based advocacy and continuous professional learning, with the various components expected to be commissioned progressively within the next six to 10 months.
The expo attracted representatives of the European Union, UNICEF, European Investment Bank, Bank of Industry, IFC/World Bank, NAFDAC, Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, as well as academic and industry institutions.
Closing the event, Pharm. Frank Muonemeh said sustained collaboration among stakeholders would be necessary to close Nigeria’s medicine access gap and advance medicine security across Africa.
PMGMAN also announced plans for the 9th Nigeria Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Expo in 2028.