Nelson Ugwuagbo

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has revealed that over two million unregistered pharmaceutical premises are presently operating in the country.

The body lamented that the country is becoming a fertile ground for fake and substandard drug production due to the large number of such locations where medicinal drugs are dispensed and sold.

This alarm was raised by the PSN President, Professor Cyril Usifoh, who called for stricter measures to be adopted and enforcement of pharmaceutical regulations, stressing that unregistered premises pose a serious threat to public health, as they may not meet safety and quality standards.

“The PSN estimates that there are over 25,000 registered pharmacies and patent medicine shops in Nigeria, but this number pales in comparison to the estimated 2 million unregistered premises. Many of these unregistered premises are operating illegally, without any regulatory oversight or adherence to safety and quality standards.

Speaking at a press conference held in Lagos on Saturday, in commemoration of the forthcoming 96th Annual National Conference of the society tagged ‘Jewel City 2023, meant to take place in Gombe State from October 30 to November 4, he expressed displeasure that the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, which is the regulating authority empowered to curtail the excesses and abuses of some unregistered pharmaceutical premises, lacks a substantive registrar.

The PSN president insisted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration needed prompt guidance from the nation’s chief legal officer to help navigate the challenges facing the pharmaceutical sector.

He stressed that the president must address the PCN’s financing shortfall and appoint a substantive registrar to close the regulatory deficiencies in the industry.

According to him, “We can’t as a nation have a consuming evil of monstrosity, which the National Assembly has also identified, and you walk away as a government because some financial technocrats think they want to save money.  It amounts to a comprehensive abdication of responsibility by an otherwise responsible government to contemplate this with PCN, which is both a peculiar and unique professional regulatory Council.

“Poor funding and the status quo of the Federal Government involvement have compelled Nigerians to live with physicians dispensing drugs in private hospitals, a thriving drug abuse and misuse culture, which is seriously consuming Nigerians, especially youths and even women.

“From the purview of existing laws, the Federal Government is compelled in Section 9 (1) of the PCN Act 2022 to provide budgetary and extra-budgetary allocations to the PCN.

“It will, therefore, be unlawful and illegal for the Budget Office to stop allocations to the PCN in the public interest.”

Usifoh, further lamented that Nigeria has lost over 6,000 pharmacists to brain drain in the last six years while more are preparing to leave.

He said, “We acknowledge that a few steps like the new salary structure and consultancy cadre, together with the PCN Act are welcome but much more is needed to significantly reverse the trend.”

The Ondo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association has threatened to embark on industrial action if the state government failed to fulfil its promise to review the hazard allowance of its members.

The NMA lamented that for a long time, the doctors practising in the government-owned hospitals in the state were paid a sum of N5,000 as hazard allowance and the state government had approved the upward review of the allowance but there was no implementation yet.

Speaking on the NMA 2023 Physicians’ Week on Monday in Akure, the state capital,  the chairman of the Ondo NMA, Dr Omosehin Adeyemi-Osowe, noted that the state government had promised to pay the money this week, failure of which might lead to another industrial action.

According to him, members of the group may not hesitate to go on strike if the implementation of the reviewed allowance is not paid before Friday this week.

He said,” We have many challenges in Ondo NMA, one of them is that we lack personnel. Recently we heard in the news that over 1000 health workers would be employed by the state government. We are still waiting for the recruitment exercise to commence. Another challenge is our allowances, we have had a review recently, and before that review, the hazard allowance has been reviewed upward, before the review of that hazard allowance what we receive as doctors is N5,000.

“This has been reviewed by the Federal Government but up till this moment, Ondo State has not implemented it, but we know that it has been approved, we were promised that there would be implementation in Ondo State, but up till this moment we are yet to perceive the implementation. As of last Friday, the government through the Permanent Secretary on establishment promised that on or before the end of tomorrow (Wednesday) a circular would be out, we are waiting.”

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The state NMA, who confirmed that the state had also experienced the ‘japa’ syndrome in the health sector, said the development required the government to improve the welfare of the remaining health workers in the state.

“In Ondo State today, doctors, pharmacists and others are leaving the country for advanced country, we cannot stop them, they have the human right to migrate, but what are those things making them migrate, these are the things we have discussed with the government, we need competitive allowances and salaries as compared to other countries even if we come locally, as compared to other states, these we are not getting, but we believe it would come,

“I want to tell the government that at the end of this week, and we do not have that circular, well, it would not be bad for Ondo State Nigeria Medical Association of doctors to go on strike at the end of this week if we do not have the circular for the implementation of the hazard allowance in Ondo State, the federal workers have been enjoying this since last year, from December 2021, the Federal Government has cleared all the federal workers allowance, they have paid their workers up till today,” he noted.

In the same vein, the National President of the NMA, Dr Uche Ojinmah whose speech was delivered by  Adeyemi-Osowe, warned against running the doctors down in Nigeria.

Ojinmah said, “We use this medium to humbly sound a note of warning to all and sundry to never try to run Nigerian doctors down in any way but to always follow due process if aggrieved or in discharging their responsibilities. If anyone has any case against a doctor practising in Nigeria, it should channel such to the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for appropriate response being the body statutorily saddled with such responsibility.

“The NMA hereby express her displeasure at the recent media trial of some healthcare workers by the Minister of Women Affairs. We believe that such behaviour is infra dig for one that occupies such a lofty office.”

Troops at the Nigerian Army Headquarters will conduct a battle simulation exercise from Tuesday, October 24, to Wednesday, October 25, 2023. This exercise will take place at the 7 Guards Battalion Obstacle Course in Lungi Barracks, Maitama, Abuja.

This was made known in a press release shared on their X account on Monday.

The statement said, “As part of activities scheduled for the Inter Formation Combat Platoon Obstacle Crossing Competition 2023. From Tuesday 24 October to Wednesday 25 October 2023. Army Headquarters Garrison will conduct a battle simulation exercise at 7 Guards Battalion Obstacle Course Lungi Barracks, Maitama, Abuja.

“The Exercise will involve real-time battlefield simulations and activities. Accordingly, there would be large battle sounds that would be heard during the exercise which are in line with the training exercise.

“Consequently, members of the general public who reside around Maitama, Asokoro, AYA, and the environs are not to panic but go about their normal respective businesses as the battle sounds would not raise any security concern. Furthermore, all necessary safety measures have been put in place.”

Kaduna—Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority, KSSQAA, has sealed Al-Azhar Academy, in Zaria, over alleged beating of a student to death.

The JSS 3 student, Marwan Sambo, 19, was reported to have died from severe beating and corporal punishments by some teachers, over absenteeism.

In a statement, yesterday, in Kaduna, the Director-General of KSSQAA, Dr. Usman Abubakar, said the state’s Ministry of Education, representing the state government, along with the school, had launched a fact-finding mission.

He said their visit to Zaria was to assemble the sequence of events that transpired from the Al-Azhar Academy, where the incident happened, to the victim’s home, to offer condolences and engage with bereaved family and some school mates of the victim.

Abubakar added that the KSSQAA team visited the Divisional Police Headquarters, Zaria City, where the school principal and the vice-principal were being detained.

“The fact-finding team then moved to Hajiya Gambo Sawaba General Hospital, Zaria, where the victim was formally confirmed dead.

“Finally, KSSQAA team visited the graveyard where the victim was“said to had been put to rest, and a fresh-looking grave was observed,” he said.

The DG, therefore, noted that the State Government, under the leadership of Gov. Uba Sani, assured the“general public of its firm resolve to ensure conducive learning environment, equity and justice.

Against the backdrop, he urged members of the general public to remain calm and law abiding while investigation continued for justice to be served accordingly.

“In the interim, guided by the provisions of its Establishment Act (amended 2015), the KSSQAA has closed down Al-Azhar Academy, Zaria and the school premises“remains sealed pending the outcomes of the investigation,” he said