Since taking office in 2023, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pursued one of the most consequential economic reset agendas in Nigeria’s recent history, scrapping fuel subsidies, unifying the FX market, and signalling a return to market-led policy.
But beyond the headline reforms and volatile macro data lies a quieter, strategic shift in governance: the elevation of women into critical ministerial, agency, and parastatal roles that sit at the heart of execution.
In his cabinet alone, out of the 48 ministers, seven are women.
While inflation and currency pressures have tested households and businesses, financial markets have told a more optimistic story.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited has rallied sharply, buoyed by reform momentum, banking sector recapitalisation plays, and a gradual re-entry of foreign portfolio investors seeking yield and policy clarity.
This piece tracks the women(in no order of ranking)shaping that transition, leaders tasked with translating reform into results across finance, trade, regulation, and state-owned enterprises.
Their influence offers a distinct lens into how Tinubu’s economic agenda is being implemented, and whether Nigeria’s early market gains can evolve into sustained, broad-based growth.
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Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria
Mojisola Adeyeye is the Director-General of NAFDAC, reappointed in February 2024 by President Bola Tinubu, continuing a tenure that began in 2017. She leads Nigeria’s food and drug regulatory authority, overseeing standards for medicines, food safety, and public health regulation.
A professor of pharmaceutics and regulatory science, Adeyeye earned her B.S. from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, USA. She is Professor Emeritus of Pharmaceutics and Drug Product Evaluation at Roosevelt University and previously spent over two decades at Duquesne University in the United States.
Her career spans academia, pharmaceutical research, and global regulatory leadership. She is a Senior Fulbright Scholar and has contributed extensively to drug development, manufacturing systems, and regulatory science, with multiple patents and peer-reviewed publications.
As head of NAFDAC, she has led institutional reforms focused on strengthening regulatory systems, improving operational standards, and expanding local pharmaceutical manufacturing. Under her leadership, the agency achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification and WHO Maturity Level 3 recognition.
She has also introduced reforms in pharmacovigilance, traceability systems, and Good Manufacturing Practice inspections, while supporting policies aimed at increasing access to essential medicines and strengthening Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry.
