In an update published by Punch Newspapers, it has been revealed that 47 domestic drug manufacturers in Nigeria have benefited from more than ₦6 billion in tax waivers. This fiscal intervention, executed under the Presidential Executive Order on Health Products, aims to boost local medicine production and curb the country’s over-reliance on imported pharmaceuticals.
According to the State of the Health of the Nation Report, 115 manufacturers are currently enrolled in this program. The reliefs targeted raw materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and manufacturing machinery. Through these policies, over $75 million in immediate investments has already been unlocked across multiple healthcare companies.
Providing further details, Leadership reported that “the initiative is designed to address high production costs and foreign exchange volatility” plaguing the sector. Similarly, ThisDay observed that “this executive tax policy is a vital step toward safeguarding national drug security” amid global supply chain shocks.
Echotitbits take: Nigeria’s reliance on foreign APIs has left its healthcare sector incredibly vulnerable to currency depreciation. Providing targeted tax waivers of ₦6 billion should lower manufacturing costs, but the real victory will be whether these savings are passed down to patients buying retail drugs.
Source: Punch Newspapers – https://punchng.com/fg-grants-n6bn-tax-waivers-to-drug-manufacturers/?amp, July 14, 2026
Photo credit: Pharma West Africa
