Dora Akunyili
| Dora Nkem Akunyili | |
|---|---|
| Federal Minister of Information & Communication | |
|
In office 17 December 2008 – 15 December 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | John Ogar Odey |
| Succeeded by | Labaran Maku |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 July 1954 Makurdi, Benué State |
| Died | 7 June 2014 (aged 59) India |
| Political party | People's Democratic Party (PDP); All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) |
Dora Nkem Akunyili (14 July 1954 – 7 June 2014) was the Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) of Nigeria and Nigerian Minister of Information and Communications from 2008 to 2010. She was a pharmacist and governmental administrator who gained international recognition and won several awards for her work in pharmacology, public health and human rights.
Akunyili ran for election as Senator for Anambra Central for the APGA in April 2011 but was defeated by Chris Ngige of the ACN. She immediately sent a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission disputing the result. She died in an Indian hospital on 7 June 2014 after a battle with cancer.
Following her appointment as the Director General of NAFDAC in April 2001, Akunyili established as a top priority the eradication of counterfeit drugs and unsafe food. Before her assumption of office in NAFDAC, fake and substandard foods and drugs were sold in Nigeria without any form of regulation. She was disheartened that "so many of (her) countrymen and women (were) fighting killer diseases like malaria and tuberculosis with little more than sugar syrup and chalk tablets, cynically packaged to look like the real thing." Although Akunyili faced considerable risk to her personal safety in her fight to combat the issue of fake drugs, "She [has been] dancing with danger. And she [has been collecting] very visibly awards all over the world appearing with whomever has a smile to share."
Professor (Mrs.) Dora Nkem Akunyili, who assumed office on 12 April 2001, as the Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), is a Pharmacist, Pharmacologist, Erudite Scholar, Seasoned Administrator, and a visionary leader. She was a Senior Lecturer and Consultant Pharmacologist in the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Enugu Campus, before she became the NAFDAC boss.
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