- Drug Prices Soar as Tinubu’s Zero-Tariff Order.
- Experts blame poor implementation, forex crisis, and weak local production.
- Patients struggle, with some forced into rationing or herbal alternatives.
President Bola Tinubu’s June 2024 executive order scrapping tariffs, excise duties, and VAT on pharmaceutical raw materials was intended to cut drug prices and encourage local production. Fourteen months later, Nigerians are still battling soaring medication costs, with patients and pharmacists saying the policy has brought little relief.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Market checks show steep hikes in essential medicines. Insulin rose from N14,000 in June 2024 to between N18,000 and N20,000 in August 2025, while a glucometer jumped from N20,500 to N29,000.
Hypertension drugs recorded similar spikes, with amlodipine climbing from N1,800 to N2,400 and Exforge almost doubling from N32,800 to N60,000.
Malaria treatments saw the sharpest rises, with Coartem surging 124 per cent to N8,500. Only a few drugs, such as Augmentin and Ventolin inhaler, became cheaper.
Pharmacists and medical experts blame poor implementation, heavy reliance on imports, forex volatility, and rising energy costs. “The executive order has not been implemented effectively. Seventy-five per cent of our drugs are imported, and forex is too high,” said Ambrose Ezeh, National President of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria.
The Nigerian Medical Association and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors stressed that without stronger local manufacturing and broader health insurance coverage, Nigerians would remain vulnerable to high costs. Patients battling chronic illnesses said they were being priced out of treatment, forcing some to rely on herbs or ration prescriptions.
Meanwhile, stakeholders warned that new levies, such as the four per cent Free-on-Board value on imports, risk wiping out gains made under the zero-tariff regime. They urged the government to harmonise policies and fund pharmaceutical firms to boost local capacity.
For now, Nigerians continue to feel stranded, with the executive order offering little respite from rising drug prices.
