Despite President Bola Tinubu’s executive order in June 2024 abolishing tariffs, excise duties and Value Added Tax on pharmaceutical machinery and raw materials, drug prices in Nigeria have continued to climb sharply, leaving patients with no relief.

Naijaonpoint reports that the policy, which was expected to reduce production costs and ease the burden on consumers, has largely remained ineffective, as 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 an order to support local manufacturing of healthcare products.

Pate said the order introduced zero tariffs, excise duties and VAT on raw materials such as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, 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 stated at the time.

He explained that the order mandated collaboration among the Ministers of Health, Finance and Trade to fast-track implementation and reduce regulatory bottlenecks.

Customs Announces Implementation

In March 2025, the Nigeria Customs Service issued a circular announcing the commencement of the implementation of the executive order.

The Service’s spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, stated that the waiver of duties and VAT on critical raw materials would be in effect 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 said.

However, a market survey by Punch comparing drug prices between June 2024 and August 2025 shows that patients have yet to feel the impact of the policy. Instead of dropping, prices of many essential medicines have risen between 30 per cent and 124 per cent.

Diabetes/Hypertension: The cost of insulin increased from ₦14,000 to ₦18,000 (29%), while the cost of a glucometer rose from ₦20,500 to ₦29,000 (41%). Metformin went up 30 per cent from ₦500 to ₦650, while amlodipine rose from ₦1,800 to ₦2,400 (33%). Exforge spiked 83 per cent from ₦32,800 to ₦60,000.

Malaria: Coartem doubled from ₦3,800 to ₦8,500 (124%), Artesunate injection rose from ₦1,600 to ₦2,500 (56%), while Lokmal tablets surged from ₦1,200 to ₦2,450 (104%).

Few exceptions: Augmentin dropped by 24 per cent, from ₦18,500 to ₦14,000, while the Ventolin inhaler fell from ₦8,500 to ₦7,500 (12%).

For patients with chronic conditions, the situation has become dire as the rising cost of medication continues to pile pressure on already strained households.

Stakeholders say the failure to fully operationalise the executive order has left Nigerians with “little respite from crippling medication costs.”

Stakeholders Put Blame On Policy

Stakeholders attribute the persistent drug price hikes to the non-implementation or slow roll-out of the executive order, coupled with Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imports, high foreign exchange rates, rising energy costs, and other structural inefficiencies in the healthcare supply chain.

The National President of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Ambrose Ezeh, said the executive order has not been implemented.

“Have we implemented (the executive order)? If the order is not implemented, then the status quo remains. Even if they are implemented or not, most of the drugs, 75 per cent of the drugs that we use in this country, are imported.

“The foreign exchange is at a high rate. 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 you are importing from outside. The executive order has not been implemented,” Ezeh stated.