Sanusi, Others Canvass Support for Pharmaceutical Industry to Bridge Widening Local Production Gap

Esther Oluku 

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi II, has underscored the need to support Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry to strengthen the country’s healthcare resilience amid widening local production gap.

The Emir made the call in his keynote address at the 2026 Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP) Economic Outlook and CEOs’ Forum, themed ‘Reimagining Nigeria’s Health Security: Local Production, Economic Sovereignty and Strategic Partnership’, held in Lagos on Wednesday.

He revealed that with about 70 per cent of the drugs used in Nigeria are imported, with 82 per cent of those imports sourced from a single country, India, any disruption in supply could significantly destabilise the nation’s healthcare system.

Sanusi therefore called for urgent political engagement to establish local production plants and boost domestic drug supply, urging increased investment in the indigenous pharmaceutical industry to enable the country to achieve self-sufficiency.

In his remarks, a former Minister of Health, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, noted the indigenous pharmaceutical industry was “punching below its weight”, while calling for renewed commitment through investment to strengthen pharmaceutical practice in Nigeria.

Similarly, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, emphasised the urgency of the situation, warning that excessive dependence on external sources for medical supplies places “not only the health of the people at risk but also the country’s economic sovereignty and resilience.”

The National Chairman of NAIP, Pharm. Bankole Ezebuilo, explained that medicines and vaccines are not merely procurement items but “strategic assets”.

He stressed that “the future of Nigeria’s healthcare sector must be defined by innovation, production, partnership, resilience, sovereignty and sustainability”.

Addressing the sector’s financing challenges, Ezebuilo added that what is required is not short-term working capital but patient capital, including long-tenor financing, blended finance structures and credit-enhancement instruments capable of de-risking investment across the pharmaceutical value chain