The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has reiterated its call for the National Assembly to expedite amendments to the existing Fake Drug Act to formalise a sustainable collaboration between the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) and NAFDAC.
A press statement jointly signed by the National Chairman of the ACPN, Pharm. Ezeh Ambrose and National Secretary, Pharm. Ashore Omokhafe, noted that the partnership is essential for advancing the global philosophy of Good Pharmacy Practice in Nigeria.
The ACPN stressed the need for well-structured Federal and State Task Forces, which should include a full complement of Pharmaceutical Inspection Officers from the PCN and Drug/Food Inspectors from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), reports Daily Independent.
This collaborative framework is expected to yield optimal results, provided that the Federal Task Force ensures consistent regulatory oversight over the State Task Forces.
Such oversight will facilitate the establishment of uniform Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) across the nation, enhancing the effectiveness of drug regulation and safety in Nigeria.
Implement Stricter Penalties For Fake Drugs Violations
ACPN while commending the recent regulatory actions of PCN and NAFDAC which led to the sealing of unregistered drug premises across the country called on the National Assembly to establish more stringent penalties for violators. They insisted that the apex law-making should implement stricter penalties for drug violations that lead to severe health risks and fatalities among Nigerians.
ACPN hailed the recent efforts as crucial steps toward sanitizing the nation’s drug distribution system and ensuring public health safety.
A key milestone in these enforcement activities was securing irrevocable commitments from holding companies operating in the Coordinated Wholesale Centres (CWC) in Lagos, Aba, and Onitsha.
These agreements set clear timelines for the completion of the CWCs, marking significant progress in the efforts to phase out open drug markets.
The ACPN acknowledged the cooperation of drug market operators in these locations, who have pledged to relocate to the CWCs as soon as they are operational.
The association urged the Lagos, Anambra, and Abia state governments to provide necessary approvals and infrastructure to facilitate the smooth transition to the new wholesale centres.
It particularly appreciated the financial commitments made by the Anambra and Abia state governments toward the realisation of these centres.
While supporting the relocation of drug markets, the ACPN reiterated the need for ongoing regulatory oversight to prevent the continued sale of substandard and counterfeit drugs.
It called on NAFDAC to enforce strict quality control measures on drugs and medical equipment sold in these markets while urging PCN to ensure compliance with proper storage standards to prevent the degradation of medicines.
The statement partly reads, “The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) wishes to commend the sustained and improved regulatory control activities of the PCN and NAFDAC in recent weeks which led to the sealing of some premises in different parts of the country.
“The high point of the PCN and NAFDAC efforts was the extraction of irrevocable undertakings which committed the holding companies of the CWC in Lagos, Aba, and Onitsha to defined timelines within which the CWC in the three locations will be ready.
“We salute the operators in these three reflected drug markets for committing themselves to the process of relocating from the existing Open Drug Markets to the Coordinated Wholesale Centres (CWC) as soon as it is ready for operation.
“The synergies with which these agreements and undertakings were brokered between the respective stakeholders and the regulatory agencies gives so much hope that the value chain of the drug distribution will be normalised in the foreseeable future.
“The ACPN particularly solicits the maximum cooperation of the Lagos State Government, Anambra State Government, and Abia State Government to give all necessary approvals including infrastructures to make the Coordinated Wholesale Centres, see the light of day.
“It is also very strategic to convey our gratitude to the Anambra State Government and Abia State Government which have also shown interest in making financial commitments to the Coordinated Wholesale Centres in their respective States,” it added.
The ACPN further emphasised the need for regulatory action against illegal drug markets still operating in places like Mushin, Agege, and Orile in Lagos, where open sales of pharmaceutical products persist.
The association also reminded authorities of a directive issued in 2018 by the Federal Ministry of Health under Prof. Isaac Adewole, mandating the relocation of drug markets in Agbeni (Ibadan), Ogbete (Enugu), and Gamboru (Maiduguri) to Coordinated Wholesale Centres. It called for the immediate implementation of this directive, citing the continued existence of unregulated drug markets in various state capitals and the outskirts of Abuja.
The statement also reads, “The ACPN calls on the PCN and NAFDAC to ensure routine monitoring and control procedures in these drug markets pending their eventual relocation to the Coordinated Wholesale Centres on completion.
“Specifically, we anticipate that NAFDAC will continue to ensure that drugs and medical equipment put up for sale on these locations conform with quality assurance and control benchmarks.
“The PCN on the other hand must ensure that storage standards and drug layouts are complied with to ensure the drugs on sale do not undergo accelerated degradation due to poor handling.
“In the reality that new measures are being made to step up regulatory activities in the top-notch drug markets around the country. The ACPN seriously encourages the PCN and NAFDAC to extend its searchlight to the remnants of the drug markets in Mushin, Agege, Orile, and some other areas of the Lagos metropolis where it is still business as usual.
“We also wish to put on record that in the twilight of the Prof. Isaac Adewole-led administration at the Federal Ministry of Health in 2018, the FMOH directed that the drug markets in Agbeni in Ibadan, Ogbete in Enugu and Gamboru in Maiduguri should also commence the process of relocation to Coordinated Wholesale Centres. This directive must be activated for imminent actualisation in the months ahead.
“Our investigations confirm that the semblance of Open Drug Markets is the realities in specific locations around most of our State capitals and the suburbs of the FCT, Abuja.”
To sustain recent gains, the ACPN urged PCN and NAFDAC to conduct more frequent raids and surveillance operations at major drug supply points. It called for a firm and uncompromising approach to eliminating illegal drug distribution networks across the country.
Similarly, the statement reads, “The recent momentum generated by PCN and NAFDAC must be made sustainable through more regular raids and surveillance activities on the major supply points in the drug distribution logistics network.
“Our principal regulators must adopt a no retreat, no surrender strategy in the ultimate desire to checkmate undesirable elements from meddling in drug use and management endeavours in Nigeria.
“In deference to public interest and opinion, the ACPN once again calls on the National Assembly to immediately pave the way for the necessary and urgent amendment of the existing Fake Drug Act in the areas of formalising a sustainable collaboration in PCN and NAFDAC bilateral relations which is a major pre-requisite to achieving the global philosophy of Good Pharmacy Practice in Nigeria.”
The association insisted on an urgent amendment to the Fake Drug Act by the National Assembly, emphasising the need to formalise collaboration between PCN and NAFDAC. It proposed that federal and state task forces should include pharmaceutical inspection officers and drug/food inspectors to ensure uniform enforcement of regulatory standards nationwide.
In its call for stricter penalties for drug law violators, the ACPN criticised the current sanctions—₦500,000 fines and five-year jail terms—as inadequate deterrents.
The ACPN advocated for fines ranging from N20 million to N50 million, alongside jail terms of 20 years to life, aimed at deterring those involved in the distribution of counterfeit medications and unsafe food and beverages.
The Association maintained its call on immediate and uncompromising action against the nation’s rampant illegal drug market, labeling those involved as “merchants of death.”
They also demanded that regulatory agencies and state governments escalate their efforts to eradicate these dangerous markets.
The statement further reads, “We also strongly clamour that the National Assembly comes up with more stringent penalties in terms of penalties which are pegged at N500,000.00 and five years jail terms for violations which often inflict outright mortalities on Nigerians.
“ACPN clamours strongly that the penalties must range between N20 million and N50 million, while jail terms must be in the region of 20 years and a life sentence to serve as deterrence to the merchants of death who give Nigerians no respite or breathing space in the circulation of fake drugs and unwholesome foods and drinks,” it added.
