PCN Shuts 531 Illegal Medicine Outlets In Abuja
No fewer than 531 medicine outlets have been recently closed down in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN).
The PCN Director of Enforcement, Stephen Esumobi, noted in Abuja on Friday that the outlets were shut down due to a range of violations, such as operating without registration, inadequate documentation, and selling ethical products without pharmacist supervision.
Naija News reports that the PCN is a Federal Government agency tasked with overseeing and managing the education, training, and practice of pharmacy in accordance with the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria Establishment Act 2022.
Esumobi said, “The council’s National Enforcement team carried out a week-long enforcement exercise in the FCT, visiting 908 premises, including pharmacies, patent medicine shops, and illegal medicine outlets. The team sealed 531 premises, including 90 pharmacies, 144 patent medicine shops, and 297 illegal medicine shops.”
He noted that the council is working towards the use of technology to make drugs easily accessible to patients.
“PCN is developing software for people to source their drugs anywhere they are,” said Esumobi, emphasizing the significance of Artificial Intelligence in medical settings, underlining that it should not be seen as a replacement for human involvement, particularly in situations requiring verbal interaction.
He urged the public to notify the authorities about any suspected illegal drugstores or practitioners in their localities through the PCN website.
The PCN has set up state and zonal offices, along with Pharmaceutical Inspection Committees and Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendors Licence Committees, to oversee and regulate pharmacy practices in Nigeria.
Furthermore, the council has conducted orientation and ongoing education initiatives for proprietors of patent medicine shops in FCT to ensure compliance with regulations.
The closure of these medicine outlets is intended to promote the rational distribution and dispensing of safe, effective, and high-quality medicines across all levels of the healthcare system in Nigeria.
