NPME 2026: FG Moves to Extend Pharma Executive Order as Nigeria Targets Regional Pharma Hub

The Federal Government has indicated plans to extend the Presidential Executive Order supporting local pharmaceutical manufacturing by another two years as stakeholders push for sustained policies, investment and regulatory reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s medicine security and position the country as a regional pharmaceutical manufacturing hub. The indication was given at the 8th Nigeria Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Expo (NPME) 2026, held on September 28 and 29 at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos, where manufacturers, regulators, investors, policymakers and development partners renewed calls for stronger local production and improved access to the African market. Organised by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMGMAN), the two-day expo attracted more than 200 exhibitors and focused on advancing regional manufacturing, localisation and Africa’s pharmaceutical and life sciences sovereignty. Declaring the expo open, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing as a pathway to medicine security, healthcare resilience and economic development. Salako stressed the need to strengthen capacity across the pharmaceutical value chain, covering research and development, innovation, sourcing of active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients, formulation, manufacturing and quality assurance. He also called for increased investment in sophisticated areas of pharmaceutical production, including biologics, vaccines and other critical health technologies, while urging stronger regional cooperation to address regulatory barriers limiting access to African markets. In his welcome address, the Chairman of NPME 2026, Pharm. Dr Patrick Ajah, said no nation could achieve sustainable greatness without manufacturing what its citizens consume, describing the pharmaceutical sector as fundamental to national development. Ajah noted that the presence of high-level government officials, including the Minister of Education, represented a strong endorsement of PMGMAN’s mission. He recalled that Nigeria’s drug consumption had historically been skewed towards imports, with about 70 per cent of medicines imported and 30 per cent produced locally, but said public-private collaboration over the past two years had begun to shift the balance. He called on stakeholders to partner with PMGMAN to drive sustainable growth, stressing that the expo had created opportunities for businesses to expand across Nigeria, Africa and the global market. The PMGMAN Chairman, Oluwatosin Jolayemi, said the Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturing sector was undergoing significant transformation, noting that the group now represents more than 200 local pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. Jolayemi said the gains recorded by the industry must be protected through policy consistency and a predictable investment environment, particularly as manufacturers continue to contend with high energy and production costs, supply-chain challenges, port inefficiencies, limited access to long-term capital and market-access constraints. He therefore appealed to the Federal Government to extend the Presidential Executive Order, whose current policy window is expected to expire in March 2027, by another two years to enable manufacturers deepen investments, expand production capacity and consolidate gains in medicine security. According to him, Nigeria’s ambition to become a regional pharmaceutical manufacturing hub must be anchored on a competitive, scalable and resilient domestic manufacturing ecosystem. He called for coordinated action among government, regulators, manufacturers, financiers and development partners to address structural barriers and move the sector beyond domestic production towards a globally competitive and regionally integrated manufacturing ecosystem. The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, represented by the Director of Chemical and Non-Pharmaceutical Industry, Mr John Okpe Oluwa, said the Federal Government was committed to moving Nigeria from an import-dependent market towards greater self-sufficiency under the Renewed Hope Agenda. Enoh said the government was targeting 70 per cent domestic production of essential medicines while developing a resilient ecosystem capable of meeting the country’s medical needs. He added that increased domestic manufacturing capacity would provide a foundation for expanding Nigeria’s pharmaceutical exports into West Africa and the wider African market through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).