The National Chairman of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria, Pharm. Bankole Ezebuilo, has called on the Federal Government to declare a national emergency on pharmaceutical manufacturing and scale up support for local production. Speaking at NAIP’s 29th Annual Conference in Ilorin, he warned that Nigeria’s reliance on imports for over 70% of medicines threatens healthcare security and economic stability.
Ezebuilo said Nigeria must choose between continued dependence on foreign drugs and pursuing pharmaceutical sovereignty through aggressive local manufacturing. He stressed that sustainable healthcare cannot be imported, and urged government, industry, academia, and regulators to work together to build a reliable production system for high-quality medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients locally. Doing so, he argued, would stabilize supply, improve quality control, create jobs, and position Nigeria as Africa’s pharma hub.
The conference, themed “Collaboration and Innovation to Build Local Solutions for the Future of Nigeria’s Pharmaceutical Industry,” also featured a free medical outreach in Ilorin that served over 1,000 residents. Ezebuilo said NAIP members are ready to partner with government to drive a pharmaceutical industrial revolution, concluding that Nigeria’s healthcare future must be built through skilled manpower, innovation, and strong local capacity.
