The former Minister of Aviation and Chancellor of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, Osita Chidoka, has urged Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturers to embrace global quality standards to strengthen the country’s health security and competitiveness.
Speaking at the sidelines of the 29th National Conference of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria, Chidoka said the pharmaceutical industry must move beyond basic regulatory compliance and build systems that meet international standards set by the World Health Organization.
‘’Nigeria’s heavy dependence on imported Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, estimated at 70 to 80 per cent, continues to drive up medicine costs and weaken the nation’s healthcare system,’’ Chidoka warns.
According to him, manufacturers must adopt what he termed an “Agency Culture,” where organizations take responsibility for quality, innovation, and operational excellence despite economic or infrastructural challenges.
“The regulator’s weakness is not your permission to be weak,” Chidoka stated, urging pharmaceutical firms to see quality not as a compliance burden but as a strategic advantage for competing within the African Continental Free Trade Area market.
Also speaking, National Chairman of NAIP, Bankole Ezebuilo, stressed that excellence in pharmaceutical manufacturing must become an internal organizational culture driven by accountability, performance measurement, and continuous improvement.
