By Fatima Saka
The Senate Committee on Federal Character and Governmental Affairs, chaired by Senator Allwell Heacho Onyesoh, on Thursday, took the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, to task over persistent imbalance in the agency’s recruitment pattern, accusing the agency of failing to correct long-standing disparities in state representation.
At a tense public hearing at the National Assembly, lawmakers expressed deep concern over what they described as “unacceptable marginalization” of certain states, particularly the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in NAFDAC’s staffing records between 2021 and 2025.
Senator Onyesoh faulted the agency for failing to take deliberate, measurable actions to address glaring imbalances in its recruitment, despite repeated assurances. “The numbers do not lie,” he said. “If the agency was truly committed to equity, we would have seen consistent improvement in underrepresented states. Instead, the trend remains the same or gets worse.”
Records presented by the committee showed that while some states such as Anambra and Adamawa continue to dominate the agency’s staff list—with Anambra peaking at 130 staff and Adamawa rising from 54 in 2021 to 60 in 2024—others, such as the FCT, have either stagnated or declined in numbers. “From 2021 to 2024, FCT moved from 18 to 17. By May 2025, it marginally improved to 20,” Onyesoh noted. “That’s hardly progress.”
Responding to the senators’ concerns, Professor Adeyeye defended NAFDAC’s recruitment processes, citing the agency’s scientific mandate and the challenges of finding qualified professionals, such as pharmacists and food scientists, in some underrepresented states. “We don’t deliberately sideline any state. We are doing the best we can with fairness in mind,” she said. “We rely on data from the Federal Character Commission before advertising vacancies. But our operations require highly specialized personnel.”
However, her explanation was met with skepticism from lawmakers, who insisted that the agency must prioritize national inclusion above bureaucratic excuses. Senator Daniel Ogunyi remarked, “There are unemployed pharmacists and scientists in every region of this country. If NAFDAC opens up its process, they will show up.”
The committee also questioned NAFDAC’s inability to carry out fresh recruitment in 2024 despite having budgetary provisions. Professor Adeyeye confirmed that while funds were available, recruitment was stalled due to a lack of federal approval. “We have not been granted the go-ahead. If approval is given today, we will advertise and recruit transparently,” she stated.
Senator Patrick Ndubueze added that many government agencies were complicit in ignoring the constitutional Federal Character principle, allowing directors-general to staff agencies with people from their home states. “This culture of nepotism must stop,” he warned. “The unity of this country is being eroded.”
The Committee resolved to formally write to the Senate leadership to demand expedited recruitment approval for NAFDAC, conditional on the agency addressing the imbalance in staffing. “We cannot sack existing staff,” Senator Onyesoh said, “but we must ensure future recruitments strictly follow the Federal Character principle.”
The committee also summoned NAFDAC’s Human Resource Director, who has been with the agency since 1995 and became head of HR in 2023. He was accused of being a “tacit participant” in perpetuating the imbalance due to his long-standing role in staff administration.
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As lawmakers prepare to involve the Federal Character Commission for a comprehensive compliance review, Thursday’s session underscored growing frustration within the Senate over what it sees as institutional disregard for constitutional equity and national inclusion.
“Compliance is not optional,” Senator Onyesoh emphasized. “It is our constitutional duty to ensure justice for every Nigerian, no matter their state of origin.”
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