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Meet the new NAFDAC DG, Moji Adeyeye

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The news that Moji Christianah Adeyeye will become the new Director-General of the National Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has been in the media for some days now but it only became official on Tuesday.

“The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the appointment of PROFESSOR MOJI CHRISTIANAH ADEYEYE, as the Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control,” read a statement issued on Tuesday by Mohammed Nakorji, Assistant Director (Press), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Stakeholders in the sector have described the appointment as a round peg in a round hole given that Adeyeye is coming into the job with curriculum vitae that is quite extraordinary.

Olusola Adeyeye

Olusola Adeyeye

ONE ADEYEYE EACH IN THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATURE

Moji Adeyeye, a Professor of pharmacy, is the wife of Olusola Adeyeye, the outspoken Chief Whip of the Senate, who himself is a Professor of Biology.

The couple have three children: two daughters and one son.

Perhaps the regular bickering between the legislature and executive, a major characteristic of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, is about to get more interesting.

LIONESS, OWNER OF FIVE PATENTS

Moji Adeyeye graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1976 with a bachelors’ degree in Pharmacy. Graduates of UNN are usually referred to as Lions/Lionesses.

She had brief stints at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, and Baptist Hospital, Ogbomoso, between 1976 and 1980 before proceeding to the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA, where she obtained a Masters’ and Doctorate degree in Pharmaceutics in 1985 and 1988 respectively.

Adeyeye is the owner of six patents, including one each on the production of anti-retroviral drugs and drugs for treatment of breast disease.

A patent is an authorisation or licence conferring a right, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention.

She has mentored over 15 PhD and M.S candidates, and has published several books and research articles in reputable journals across the globe.

ORGANISATIONS FOUNDED

Adeyeye is the founding Chair of Biopharmaceutical Sciences and Professor of Pharmaceutics and Drug Product Evaluation at the College of Pharmacy, Roosevelt University in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States.

She is also the founder of Drugs for AIDS and HIV Patients (DAHP), a nonprofit organisation committed to prevention, education, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS children in Nigeria.

Adeyeye founded the ‘Sarah Extended Family Homes for Children’ an extension of DAHP, which aims to provide care for children with HIV/AIDS from kindergarten to the university.

She is also the founder of Elim Pediatric Pharmaceuticals.

Since the President sacked Paul Orhii in February 2016, NAFDAC has not had a substantive Director-General. Yetunde Oni and Andrew Magbojuri have had spells at different times as acting DGs.