Without Local Government Autonomy, NAFDAC Will Keep Failing Nigerians, Sanni, Opeolu Warn

Nigeria’s food safety war will be won or lost in its markets, abattoirs, roadside kitchens and council wards, and not in the head offices of regulators like NAFDAC.

The above was the verdict of the Fifth Edition of the ValidViewNetwork Monthly Global Discourse. The virtual session held on Sunday, October 25, 2026, ran from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. WAT.

The discussants called on state governors to respect local government autonomy as a foundation for food safety.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE ARGUMENT

ValidViewNetwork reports that the session, themed “Poison on the Plate: Confronting Nigeria’s Epidemic of Fake and Adulterated Food Items,” drew food scientists, public health practitioners, policymakers, journalists and students.

Professor Lateef Sanni, Executive Director and CEO of the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), anchored the discussion in processing, storage, preservation, testing and quality control.

These are activities that happen at the point where food is stored, sold and handled.

Professor Beatrice Opeolu, an environmental toxicologist and consultant, mapped the pathways through which pollutants enter food chains. Her contributions tied environmental quality directly to food safety and human health.

Together, their submissions reinforced one point. Food gets contaminated, stored badly and sold close to the consumer. Enforcement must therefore sit close to the consumer too.

THE FINDING NAFDAC’S CRITICS OFTEN MISS

The Discourse held that food safety regulation cannot be achieved through NAFDAC alone without strong grassroots institutions and functional local governments.

It called on governors to facilitate constitutionally guaranteed autonomy so councils can access their funds, exercise their responsibilities, and employ relevant personnel.

The logic is simple. A regulator in Abuja cannot inspect every market in a country of 774 local government areas. Local Government Councils can.

The Discourse stressed that empowered councils would strengthen grassroots surveillance, improve coordination with NAFDAC and environmental health authorities, and enable early detection of threats.

WHEN THE LAW ALREADY SPEAKS

The call lands on a live political fault line. The Supreme Court affirmed on 11 July 2024 that local governments are an independent tier entitled to direct funding.

Yet checks by ValidViewNetwork show the picture remains uneven.

A Punch reconstruction reports that about ₦10.479tn flowed to the third tier between July 2024 and June 2026, while implementation has largely stalled in several states.

Consider what a hollowed-out council means in practice.

A trader in a Nigerian market can sell repackaged, colour-enhanced or poorly preserved produce for years, because the environmental health officer who should inspect that stall has no vehicle, no laboratory kit and sometimes no salary.

Nobody needs a Professor of toxicology to see that a rule without an enforcer is a suggestion. The Discourse made the point plainly: unfunded councils cannot police food safety.

NAFDAC UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

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The Discourse did not spare NAFDAC. It questioned NAFDAC’s current capacity, arguing that effective food regulation needs expertise spanning food science, microbiology, environmental toxicology, analytical chemistry, nutrition and public health.

It observed that the agency is currently saturated with pharmacists. It also urged a review of agency mandates to end overlaps, and affirmed that NAFDAC should be unbundled.

Discussants further called for protection from political interference.

Other takeaways include stronger roles for agricultural extension officers, food safety messaging in indigenous languages, severe penalties for deliberate adulteration, industry sponsorship of research, and regular public reports on investigations and prosecutions.

THE CHALLENGE

The Discourse concluded that food contamination is a global problem, not a Nigerian peculiarity.

It insisted, however, that Nigeria must strengthen its systems for tracking contaminated products, issuing public alerts and enforcing recalls.

The question left hanging is uncomfortable. If councils stay starved of funds, can any regulator, however brilliant, protect the plate?

ABOUT THE ORGANISER

ValidViewNetwork Limited was founded by Kayode Ogunjobi PhD, FHEA, FFAN. It operates in consultancy, media, advocacy, research and policy engagement.

Mr Lanre Ogundipe, former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists and of the African Union of Journalists, chairs its Advisory Council.