When Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye stepped into her role at NAFDAC in 2017, she faced an alarming surprise.
She could have walked away, but instead, she saw an opportunity.
On Friday, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), revealed how she inherited a debt of ₦3.2 billion when she assumed office in 2017.
NAFDAC DG Talk About Inherited Debt
During an interview on Channels Television Inside Sources, Adeyeye mentioned that an additional ₦500 million was unaccounted for.
She pointed out that developed countries like the United States would declare the agency bankrupt and let a financial house take over its management in cases of such financial mismanagement.
Adeyeye said: “When I got to NAFDAC, I met ₦3.2 billion in debt and ₦500 million missing, with no account for it before I came.
“I asked if they had used the money for capital projects. At that time, ₦1 million was equivalent to $2,000. So, ₦500 million was $1 billion.
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“Coming from the US, where money is hard to come by, I could have given up, but I saw an opportunity and seized it.”
She added: “It was tough because if this had happened in the US, NAFDAC would have been declared bankrupt.
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“And a financial house would have managed our finances. But I didn’t have money to hire a financial house.”
Adeyeye acknowledged Nigeria’s blessings and “enough endowment” for improved development.
She recalled reducing high expenses by introducing technologies like Zoom to cut travel costs.
“My point is that we have enough endowment in this country to make things better, and I am using NAFDAC as an example,” she said.
“We started Zoom meetings in 2018. Many people didn’t like it because they were used to travel allowances and DTAs. But we had to save.”
