From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Director, Inspection and Monitoring of Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), Mrs. Anthonia Aruya said, yesterday, 373 illegal pharmacies and medicine stores in Ogun State were shut, to safeguard public health and improve on the level of pharmaceutical service delivery to the people.
The illegal pharmacies and medicine stores were, last week, sealed by the PCN across the state.
Defending the exercise, Aruya, who spoke with newsmen in Abeokuta, at the weekend, said the action became necessary to save the populace from purchasing drugs from unregistered outlets.
“PCN cannot guarantee that such drugs retain same integrity as specified by the manufacturers since they have not submitted to regulation that ensures maintenance of minimum standards for handling such products,” she said.
She also disclsoed that offences of the affected 15 pharmacies and 358 patent stores, ranged from operating without registration with the council, failure to renew premises licence, dispensing ethical products without the supervision of a pharmacist and poor sanitary conditions.
Aruyo said PCN enforcement teams’ visit to 44 pharmacies and 391 patent medicine shops in the state revealed that so many premises commenced operations without fulfilling minimum requirement for registration, while others failed to renew their licences to operate drug stores.