Pharmacy Council Shuts Down over 25,000 Drug Shops in Nigeria

Onyebuchi Ezigbo

The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) yesterday disclosed that it has so far sealed over 25,000 illegal premises used for the manufacturing of medicine across the country.

While presenting his scorecard at a ceremony held in Abuja yesterday, the Registrar, Elijah Mohammed, said the pharmacy outlets were closed down due to several infractions ranging from poor hygiene and environment of operation.

Mohammed said: “The illegal premises sealed up across the country within the period under review were about 25,000. Their offences range from poor documentation, poor hygienic environment and practices, non- regularisation of their papers and other inappropriate behaviours in their various shops and premises.”

On the development of the pharmacy profession, Mohammed also said before he assumed office as the Registrar of the PCN, there were 17 faculties of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences but that it was increased to 24 faculties.

He said, “altogether we are going to have up to 30 faculties of Pharmaceutical Sciences by the end of the year.”

Mohammed who gave further insights of activities undertaken and milestones achieved during his two terms in office said his administration worked with Council members, stakeholders and staff of PCN to put in place, “a pharmacy practice that is generational in thought, actions and deeds; and ultimately promote the tenets of the profession to meet the needs of the patient.”

He also said he set out on a mission to create societal change agents in the pharmacy profession by repositioning the Council Registry for effective service delivery, institutionalisation of Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) in Nigeria and transformation of career professionals into Intellectual

The Chairman of the Governing Council of PCN, Prof. Ahmed Tijiani Mora, described the outgoing Registrar as a wonderful personality who had contributed immensely to the growth of the profession.

In the same vein, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, extolled the qualities of Mohammed whom he said used his humble disposition to achieve significant milestone during his tenure.

Also the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye praised the efforts of PCN under the leadership of the outgoing Registrar in helping to achieve the feat of attainment of the ISO 9001:2015 by the medicine regulatory body.