Experts warn of rising health risks as Nigeria’s cosmetics market expands

… IPAN seeks stronger regulation, council reinstatement

By Chioma Obinna

As Nigeria’s cosmetics and personal-care industry expands at an unprecedented pace, scientists and regulators have warned that the growth is being accompanied by increasing safety risks, weak enforcement, and a three-year governance vacuum at the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria, IPAN. 

These concerns dominated discussions at the opening of IPAN’s 32nd Mandatory Continuous Professional Development Workshop in Lagos, where stakeholders called for urgent regulatory reforms to safeguard public health.

IPAN Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Aliyu Abdullah Angara, said this year’s theme, “Testing for Cosmetic Safety and Efficacy: Balancing Consumer Demands, Public Health, and Regulatory Standards”, underscores the seriousness of the challenge. 

He noted that unsafe, adulterated, and poorly tested cosmetic products continue to flood the Nigerian market, exposing consumers to avoidable health hazards.

“The influx of substandard, adulterated or improperly tested cosmetic products poses clear risks to consumer health and public safety. Our role as public analysts has never been more crucial.”

While acknowledging the rapid expansion of the cosmetics sector, he warned that regulatory vigilance has not kept pace. 

According to him, overlapping mandates and occasional rivalry among regulatory agencies have created unnecessary gaps in enforcement. 

“Our nation cannot afford duplication of mandates or inter-agency rivalry,” he said. 

Angara stressed that IPAN has continued to respect the mandates of agencies such as NAFDAC, SON, NESREA and the FCCPC and expects the same professional courtesy in return. He also reaffirmed that IPAN remains the only legally recognised body authorized to register analytical laboratories and train professionals who issue Certificates of Analysis valid in law.

Another major issue highlighted at the workshop was the continued absence of an IPAN governing council, which was dissolved nearly three years ago. 

Former council chairman and chairman of the occasion, Professor Olugbenga Ogunmoyela, described the prolonged dissolution as a significant setback that has affected examinations, new memberships, and other critical regulatory decisions. “Two years, three years is long enough to have kept this council out,” he said. “Critical issues have stalled. It is time that the council was brought back and reconstituted to ensure the law is upheld.”

Ogunmoyela pointed out that key enforcement-related engagements, including training support for NDLEA officers, were halted following the council’s dissolution. While commending IPAN’s management for keeping operations afloat during the period, he maintained that the institute cannot continue indefinitely without a functioning council.

In her keynote address, Professor Taiwo Asekun, Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Lagos, warned that counterfeit and unregulated cosmetic products are becoming increasingly common and pose serious health risks. 

She explained that even as African-made cosmetics gain global visibility and revenue, standards must not be compromised. She urged manufacturers to follow standards, obtain NAFDAC approvals, and ensure their products are tested in IPAN-accredited laboratories.

Asekun identified counterfeit cosmetics as one of the most dangerous threats to consumer health and urged citizens to report suspicious activities. 

She noted that counterfeit production is occurring even in residential areas and emphasised that NAFDAC cannot act without public information. 

She also stressed that IPAN analysts, found in universities and research institutions nationwide, can strengthen regulatory capacity if properly engaged.

Stakeholders agreed that unless regulation is strengthened and IPAN’s council reinstated, Nigeria risks escalating health crises, unchecked counterfeit activity, and the erosion of public confidence in locally made beauty products.

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