From Joseph Asegba, Yolla
The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 581 pharmacies and patent medicine shops in Adamawa for breach of operational laws and regulations.
The Director of Enforcement of PCN, Mr Stephen Esumobi, made this known to journalists in a news conference in Yola during their operation; no fewer than 581 pharmacies and patient medicine stores have been sealed off.
It is recalled that Mr Esumobi expressed concern that the defaulters were sometimes back-sanctioned ring operations in 2022.
He added that the facilities were sealed when the council’s enforcement team visited 816 pharmacies and medicine shops across the state.
The Director frowned by listing the local government areas the team visited, including Yola North, Yola South, Mubi North, Mubi South, Girei, Numan, Michika and Demsa.
According to Esumobi, “The premises sealed include 35 pharmacies, 325 patent medicine shops and 221 illegal medicine shops.”
He emphasized that some of the storage conditions in many of the premises were inadequate, thus exposing medicines to high temperatures and humidity.
Esumobi reiterated that such medicines will be degraded and become unsuitable for human consumption.
He said, “Similarly, a lot of pharmacies had no superintendent pharmacists to supervise the dispensing of ethical medicines and other products with a narrow margin of safety, while wholesalers are engaged in retail practices.
“Furthermore, so many premises are operated in conductive locations that are not suitable for pharmaceutical business and are asked for relocations.
“I am uncomfortable and expressed concern about how most of the defaulters were sanctioned during a similar exercise in 2022 but refused to correct the anomalies.”
He, therefore, directed the state PCN officer to sustain effective monitoring of pharmaceutical facilities to ensure compliance with operational guidelines and sanction offenders.
