In Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are pivotal institutions tasked with safeguarding public health and facilitating trade. NAFDAC ensures the safety and quality of food, drugs, and cosmetics, while NCS oversees the smooth flow of goods across borders.
However, both agencies have increasingly prioritized revenue generation over their core mandates, undermining public safety and economic efficiency. This shift, driven by government pressure to boost coffers, reveals a troubling trend where financial targets eclipse public welfare, with dire consequences for Nigerians.
NAFDAC’s primary role is to protect citizens by regulating the production, importation, and distribution of consumables. Yet, its focus has drifted toward revenue generation, creating a conflict of interest that jeopardizes public health.
For instance, the agency’s rigorous registration processes, while essential for safety, have become prohibitively expensive and slow, with businesses reporting exorbitant fees and delays of up to three months. These costs disproportionately burden small businesses, stifling local production and driving up prices for essential goods like medicines.
More alarmingly, the emphasis on revenue has not eradicated substandard products. In August 2025, NAFDAC seized over 10,000 cartons of unregistered tomato paste and cosmetics in Lagos, highlighting the persistence of unsafe goods in markets.
Dr. Martins Iluyomade, NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, noted that deaths from substandard medicines and foods surpass those caused by Boko Haram, underscoring the lethal impact of regulatory lapses. By prioritizing fees over enforcement, NAFDAC risks allowing more dangerous products to slip through, endangering lives.
Similarly, the Nigeria Customs Service, meant to facilitate trade and secure borders, has become a revenue-generating machine, often at the expense of economic growth. High tariffs, additional levies, and erratic application of customs regulations create barriers for importers, particularly in the healthcare and food sectors.
Congested ports and lengthy clearance procedures, sometimes lasting weeks, inflate costs and delay goods, hampering trade efficiency. For example, the high cost of clearing goods at Lagos ports, coupled with corruption allegations, discourages legitimate trade and fosters smuggling, which undermines both economic growth and border security.
This revenue-driven approach stifles Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade, as businesses face unpredictable costs and delays, ultimately passing these burdens onto consumers.
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The government’s obsession with revenue generation through these agencies reflects a broader failure to prioritize public welfare. Funds collected are rarely reinvested into improving NAFDAC’s laboratories or modernizing NCS’s port infrastructure.
Instead, Nigeria’s track record shows revenues often disappear into opaque budgets or mismanaged projects, with little tangible benefit for citizens. For instance, despite NAFDAC’s internally generated revenue supporting initiatives like COVID-19 vaccine quality checks, the agency still grapples with resource constraints and inadequate infrastructure.
Similarly, NCS’s port upgrades have been slow, leaving traders grappling with inefficiencies. This mismanagement erodes public trust and perpetuates a cycle where agencies chase funds but fail to deliver on their mandates.
The consequences are stark: unsafe products flood markets, endangering lives, while trade barriers hinder economic growth. NAFDAC and NCS must refocus on their core duties—protecting health and facilitating trade—rather than serving as government cash cows. Until this shift occurs, Nigerians will continue to bear the cost of a system that values revenue over lives and prosperity.
