The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has expressed concern over the state of pharmaceutical practice in Cross River State after an enforcement exercise revealed that nearly half of the medicine outlets inspected were operating illegally.
The Council said it sealed 505 pharmaceutical premises for various regulatory violations, describing the findings as a serious threat to public health and the integrity of Nigeria’s medicine supply chain.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday in Calabar, the PCN Director of Enforcement, Dr. Suleiman Chiroma, said the discoveries were made during a four-day enforcement exercise carried out across the state.
According to Chiroma, the operation was conducted under the directive of the Registrar of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Ahmed, and covered Bekwara, Yakurr, Obubra, Ikom, Yala, Ogoja, Akamkpa, Odukpani, Calabar Municipal and Calabar South Local Government Areas.
He said enforcement teams inspected 602 pharmaceutical premises, comprising 94 pharmacies, 217 Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor (PPMV) stores and 291 illegal medicine outlets.
Of the total inspected, 505 premises were sealed, including 54 pharmacies, 160 PPMV stores and all 291 illegal medicine outlets. The Council also issued 13 compliance directives to operators.
“Illegal premises constituted 48.3 per cent of facilities inspected and accounted for 57.8 per cent of all premises sealed during the exercise,” Chiroma said.
He added that only 42.5 per cent of pharmacies inspected fully complied with regulatory standards, while compliance among PPMV stores stood at just 26.8 per cent.
Chiroma noted that every illegal medicine outlet identified during the operation was sealed in accordance with the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2022.
He identified the major violations recorded during the exercise as operating without valid PCN licences, poor medicine storage practices, unauthorised access to controlled medicines and illegal apprenticeship training.
According to him, such practices encourage the circulation of substandard, falsified and diverted medicines, leading to treatment failure, antimicrobial resistance, avoidable deaths and increased healthcare costs.
He also warned that unrestricted access to regulated medicines could facilitate their diversion into illegal channels, thereby posing broader public safety and national security risks.
Chiroma recalled that a woman linked to two pharmaceutical shops in Calabar was recently sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for similar regulatory offences.
He urged members of the public to purchase medicines only from PCN-licensed pharmacies and medicine vendors and to verify that valid operating licences are prominently displayed before buying pharmaceutical products.
The enforcement director reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to sustained regulatory enforcement to safeguard the pharmaceutical supply chain and support the attainment of Universal Health Coverage through access to safe, effective and quality-assured medicines.
Source:NAN
