She served on several State Government Boards and was named
Supervisory Councilor for Agriculture in a Local Government unit in
Anambra State. In 2001, President
Olusegun Obasanjo appointed her the Director-General of the
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Akunyili had a special motivation for attacking the country's
counterfeit drug problem including one in
Kano State after her officers confiscated £140,000 worth of fake drugs. The agency, under her
leadership, broadcast
jingles on radio and television to make the public aware of the dangers of substandard drugs and to encourage people to report
suspicious drugs while also publishing lists of
counterfeit products regularly in the newspapers. In July 2003, the
International Children's Heart
Foundation visited
Nigeria to operate on sick children at a teaching hospital in
Enugu. After four children died in what appeared to be a case of counterfeit medical supplies, and despite being confronted with what seemed to be a hospital cover-up, Akunyili confiscated supplies and found fake
adrenalin, fake muscle relaxant and infected intravenous drips. Her efforts led to increased
public awareness about counterfeit drugs and more direct and purposeful surveillance at Nigerian customs.
Politics In 2008, Akunyili was appointed Minister of Information and Communications. She immediately sent a petition to the
Independent National Electoral Commission disputing the result. 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 also including Grassroots Human Rights Campaigner Award by International Services in 2005. == Personal life and death ==