From Maduabuchi Nmeribeh, Kano
The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), on Friday, gave Sabon Gari market drug dealers and other cluster drug plazas in Kano two weeks deadline to relocate to drugs Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC) being operated by Kanawa Pharmaceutical Partners Limited.
The AUTHORITY reports that the Kanawa Drug Market, built by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, was commissioned by the Minister of Health on Friday.
Briefing Journalists at the Conference Hall, City Centre Hotel, Farm Centre, Kano, PCN Registrar, Pharm. Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, recalled that the location of Kano CWC to be operated by Kanawa Pharmaceutical Partners Limited was inspected and granted location approval by the PCN in 2017.
According to him, “it is a known fact that the chaotic drug distribution system has been a major factor affecting the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines and contributes largely to the menace of drug abuse and misuse in Nigeria.”
He regretted that the open drug markets across the country have led to poor storage facilities which expose the medicines to harsh environmental factors like high temperatures and humidity that impact negatively on their quality, safety and efficacy.
The PCN Registrar further lamented that sale of ethical products without the supervision of a pharmacist is exposing the public to the dangers of wrong use of medicines.
He also spoke about proliferation of unregistered premises, adding that, “in fact, all medicine shops in open drug markets in Nigeria are unregistered and have been operating illegally.
“Illegal sale of substances of abuse to the public is resulting in social and security problems.”
Pharm. Ahmed further stated that: “In order to reverse this ugly situation, the Federal Government set up the Presidential Committee on Pharmaceutical Sector Reforms (PCPSR) which recommended development of a new National Drug Distribution Guidlines (NDDG) as a key strategy to coordinate the drug distribution sector.
“The NDDG was developed by the Federal Ministry of Health through a collaborative effort of its Food and Drugs Department, the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other stakeholders in the drug distribution chain.”
He said: “With the commissioning of the CWC in Kano today, the sale of medicines in Sabon Gari market and clustered Plazas across Kano State will no longer be tolerated.
“Therefore, all concerned medicine dealers are advised to move to the CWC in their own interest.
“The enforcement department of the PCN will shut down all medicine shops operating in open drug markets across the country. The enforcement activity will commence very soon.”
He, however, expressed gratitude to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje for building the CWC for drug dealers in Kano state.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje for using his good offices to ensure that all obstacles militating against the completion of the project were surmounted thus making Kano State the first in the country to complete their CWC,” he stated.
