Tinubu’s Executive Order Fails to Halt Rising Drug Prices in Nigeria

Despite President Bola Tinubu’s much-publicized executive order of June 2024 abolishing tariffs, excise duties, and Value Added Tax (VAT) on pharmaceutical machinery and raw materials, drug prices in Nigeria have continued to climb, leaving patients without relief. The policy, designed to reduce production costs and ultimately ease the burden on consumers, has not achieved its intended impact. Instead, the prices of essential medicines have surged by as much as 100 per cent in just over a year.

On June 28, 2024, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, announced that the President had signed the executive order to boost local production of healthcare products. Pate explained that the order introduced zero tariffs, excise duties, and VAT on key raw materials such as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), excipients, syringes, needles, long-lasting insecticidal nets, and diagnostic kits.

“The order also provides for establishing market-shaping mechanisms such as framework contracts and volume guarantees to encourage local manufacturers,” Pate said at the time.

He further noted that the order mandated collaboration among the Ministers of Health, Finance, and Trade to fast-track implementation and reduce regulatory bottlenecks stifling Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector.

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Customs Announces Implementation

In March 2025, the Nigeria Customs Service issued a circular confirming the commencement of the executive order’s implementation. The Service’s spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, announced that the waiver on duties and VAT would remain in force for two years.

“To ensure that these fiscal incentives are fully utilised, eligibility is limited to manufacturers recognised by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, provided they possess a valid Tax Identification Number. This measure ensures that the benefits directly support legitimate manufacturers,” Maiwada explained.

However, despite this assurance, Nigerians have not seen any reduction in drug prices. A market survey conducted by Punch comparing drug prices between June 2024 and August 2025 revealed that prices of most essential medicines had not dropped—instead, they had increased significantly.

Drugs Still Beyond Patients’ Reach

For patients battling chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and malaria, the results of the survey are sobering. Instead of relief, costs have soared.

• Diabetes/Hypertension: Insulin rose from ₦14,000 to ₦18,000 (29%). A glucometer climbed from ₦20,500 to ₦29,000 (41%). Metformin went up 30 per cent from ₦500 to ₦650, while Amlodipine increased from ₦1,800 to ₦2,400 (33%). Exforge skyrocketed from ₦32,800 to ₦60,000, representing an 83 per cent rise.
• Malaria: Coartem doubled from ₦3,800 to ₦8,500 (124%). Artesunate injection rose from ₦1,600 to ₦2,500 (56%), while Lokmal tablets jumped from ₦1,200 to ₦2,450 (104%).
• Few exceptions: A small number of drugs recorded slight decreases. Augmentin dropped by 24 per cent, from ₦18,500 to ₦14,000, while the Ventolin inhaler fell from ₦8,500 to ₦7,500 (12%).

These figures reflect the daily struggles of Nigerians who require life-saving medication. For patients with chronic conditions, the situation has become particularly dire, as the rising cost of drugs continues to pile pressure on already strained households.

Stakeholders Put Blame on Policy Failure

Pharmaceutical stakeholders argue that the persistent price hikes are a direct consequence of the non-implementation or slow roll-out of the executive order, compounded by Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imports, the volatile foreign exchange market, rising energy costs, and systemic inefficiencies in the healthcare supply chain.

The National President of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Ambrose Ezeh, faulted the government for failing to fully implement the executive order.

“Have we implemented (the executive order)? If the order is not implemented, then the status quo remains,” Ezeh remarked.

He pointed out that even with the waivers, the reality is that 75 per cent of drugs consumed in Nigeria are imported, making prices vulnerable to the volatility of the naira against the dollar.

“If the forex is reduced, they (drugs) would reduce. If they are importing the raw material, they are importing everything; energy is high, and other things are high. There is no way it will not affect the medicines that are being sold in the country, whether you are producing locally or importing from outside. The executive order has not been implemented,” he stated.

Patients Left With “Little Respite”

The slow progress of the executive order has left Nigerians frustrated. For many, the policy was hailed as a lifeline when first announced, but over a year later, drug costs remain a crushing burden.

Stakeholders argue that without decisive government intervention to address exchange rate instability, reduce energy costs, and support genuine local production, fiscal waivers alone cannot solve the crisis.

Some experts have suggested the need for a clear monitoring framework to ensure that pharmaceutical companies benefiting from tax waivers actually pass the savings down to consumers, rather than absorbing them into profit margins.

President Tinubu’s executive order of June 2024 was meant to bring relief to Nigerian patients by eliminating tariffs, duties, and VAT on pharmaceutical raw materials and equipment. But over a year later, the policy has not delivered on its promise. Instead, the cost of essential medicines—from insulin to malaria treatments—has risen sharply, with some doubling in price.

Stakeholders blame weak implementation, Nigeria’s dependence on imports, high forex rates, and structural inefficiencies in the health sector. Until these issues are resolved, patients remain trapped in a cycle of soaring costs, with many struggling to afford the drugs they need to survive.

For now, the executive order stands as a policy of good intentions but poor execution—one that highlights the gap between government promises and the harsh realities faced by ordinary Nigerians in search of affordable healthcare.