President Bola Tinubu has congratulated the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on retaining its Maturity Level 3 (ML3) status from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for regulation of medicines and vaccines.
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The commendation is in a statement issued by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga on Monday in Abuja.
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The WHO conducted a re-benchmarking exercise from May 28 to 30, assessing NAFDAC’s performance against global regulatory standards.
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NAFDAC first attained ML3 status in 2022, becoming the first African National Regulatory Authority to achieve this for medicines and vaccines (non-producing).
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In line with WHO protocols, the revalidation involved periodic reviews to confirm sustained compliance with international benchmarks.
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The latest evaluation followed formal re-benchmarking in November 2024 and five institutional development plan (IDP) review meetings held between February and April 2025.
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The president described the WHO recognition as “a reflection of the government’s significant investments in NAFDAC’s regulatory capacity.
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“NAFDAC has successfully maintained a regulatory system that operates as a stable, well-functioning and integrated framework for regulating medicines and vaccines (non-producing). This achievement results from investments by the government of Nigeria in strengthening the regulatory system.”
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He also commended NAFDAC’s leadership and staff for their dedication, professionalism and commitment to protecting public health.
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‎Mr Tinubu said the achievement reinforced Nigeria’s credibility as a trusted player in global health security and pandemic preparedness.
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He restated the government’s commitment to strengthening regulatory systems and ensuring safe, effective and high-quality medicines and vaccines.
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He noted that the milestone aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda to transform Nigeria’s healthcare landscape.
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He highlighted progress in upgrading over 17,000 primary health centres nationwide to improve healthcare access.
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Other efforts include expanding maternal care, upgrading diagnostics in rural areas and training 120,000 frontline health workers.
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Mr Tinubu also committed to doubling national health insurance coverage within three years to improve access to essential health services.
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He stressed that boosting local manufacturing of medicines and medical products remains a key priority.
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He pledged continued collaboration with development partners and donors to expand investment in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector.
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He assured that his administration would support NAFDAC to attain WHO Maturity Level 4, the highest global regulatory standard.

(NAN)