The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has revealed that she inherited a debt of N3.2 billion and $500 million in undiscounted funds upon assumption of office.
Adeyeye disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television on Friday.
She stressed that such a financial situation would have led to bankruptcy if it happened in a developed country, like the United States.
“When I got to NAFDAC, I met N3.2 billion in debt and N500 million missing and there was no account for it before I came.
“I asked them if they had capital projects they used the money for. Bear in mind that at that time, N1 million was equivalent to $2,000. So multiply $2,000 by N500 million,” she said.
Adeyeye continued: “It was tough because if that had happened in the US, NAFDAC would have been declared bankrupt, and a financial house would have taken over the management of our finances. But I didn’t have money to hire a financial house.”
The NAFDAC DG further stated that she had to tackle the problem by introducing cost-saving measures like the use of technological applications like Zoom to cut travel expenses.
“We started Zoom meetings in 2018. Many people didn’t like it because they were used to getting travel allowances and DTAs. But we had to save,” she said.
