Ayuba’s two years as PSN president draw praise, criticism

– As stakeholders highlight unresolved issues, pending campaign promises

The performance of the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Pharm. Tanko Ayuba, has come under scrutiny as stakeholders and members assess his record during the first two years of his three-year tenure. While some have commended his administration, others have given him a low rating, urging him to fulfil his campaign promises, resolve lingering crises among the Society’s technical groups and develop a concrete economic survival plan for community pharmacists, among other priorities.

With one year remaining in his tenure, stakeholders have also called for the full implementation of the Pharmacists’ Consultancy Cadre across federal and state hospitals, support for the implementation of approved salary adjustments for pharmacists under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) framework, and the prompt implementation of actionable recommendations from committees established by the PSN.

In separate interviews with Pharmanews, two former presidential aspirants, Pharm. Anthony Oyawole and Dr Joel Adagadzu, offered their assessments of Ayuba’s performance and urged him to address outstanding issues before his tenure expires.

Commendable reforms

Pharm. Oyawole commended Ayuba’s performance, describing his administration as reform-focused, welfare-driven and defensive of the profession’s regulatory interests. He nevertheless outlined several priorities for the president to address before the end of his tenure.

These include implementing the Pharmacists’ Consultancy Cadre across the federation, improving the economic prospects of community pharmacists and strengthening relationships among the PSN and its technical groups, which include the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP), Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN) and Young Pharmacists Group (YPG).

Recalling the circumstances in which Ayuba assumed office on 9 November 2024, Oyawole said the profession was grappling with three major pressures: the migration of pharmacists, with more than 8,200 reportedly having failed to renew their licences over five years; threats to the autonomy of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) through amendment bills before the National Assembly; and a gap in the pharmaceutical market following the exit of GSK, Sanofi and other multinational pharmaceutical companies.

He described Ayuba’s response to these challenges as methodical rather than populist.

According to Oyawole, the president’s achievements during his first two years include efforts to redefine the pharmacy workforce and reform education, defend the PCN’s regulatory authority, secure welfare gains through the JOHESU/AHPA alliance and strengthen pharmacy’s role in public health.

“This administration’s biggest ideological win is clarity on the workforce. At the 98th Annual Conference in Kano  (DABO 2025), themed ‘Defining a New Pharma Workforce for Nigeria”, he declared Pharm.D as the minimum entry qualification and moved decisively to end the controversial Pharmacy Technologist cadre.

“Following the MoU signed on 17 April, 2025, between the PCN, Federal Ministry of Health and NBTE, training of Pharmacy Technologists was formally discontinued nationwide, aligning Nigeria with global best practice of having only pharmacists and pharmacy technicians,” Oyawole said.

He added: “Under his watch, PSN and PCN secured the Federal High Court ruling in Calabar on October 29, 2025, affirming PCN’s sole authority to regulate veterinary drugs, ending the long dispute with the Veterinary Council of Nigeria. He has also been the most vocal defender against attempts to amend pharmacy laws to reduce professional representation on the PCN Council, correctly reminding government that pharmacy is the only health profession on the Exclusive Legislative List.”

Oyawole also cited the payment of 25–35 per cent of outstanding CONHESS arrears, a four per cent call-duty allowance for Pharm.D holders, the inclusion of Pharm.D and consultant pharmacists in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), centralised internship placement, and approval of a new retirement age of 65 for pharmacists and 70 for consultant pharmacists.

Disputable success

On his part, Dr. Adagadzu gave the PSN president a low rating, saying he could not identify any significant achievement. He attributed what he considered the administration’s poor performance partly to the domestic accident Ayuba survived shortly after his inauguration, which left him with severe injuries and limited his ability to function effectively in office.

“As far as I am concerned, having read about some of the recorded achievements of the current PSN president, I am unable to lay a finger on any standout achievement he recorded in the past two years. This could be due to the unfortunate injury he sustained shortly after his inauguration as president, which greatly affected his capacity to be fully in control, making it virtually difficult for him to oversee his duties with utmost diligence. Thankfully, there are clear indications that he is on his way to full recovery, and I join other well-meaning colleagues in praying for his total healing,” Adagadzu said.

The former chairman of the BOF-PSN urged Ayuba to fulfil the promises he made to pharmacists during his campaign, arguing that these commitments are central to his election. He also called on the president and his cabinet to undertake an honest appraisal of their performance.

“The PSN president was elected because of his promises to pharmacists. I therefore urge him and his team to sit down and review his performance in the past two years against the strength of those promises and identify existing gaps so that, in his third and final year, he can make up for or improve on whatever performance he has been able to achieve so far.”

During his presidential campaign, Ayuba envisioned a PSN whose members would be valued, well-paid, well-organised and highly motivated healthcare professionals. He also pledged to strengthen pharmacists’ accessibility to the public and their role in promoting the rational use of safe, effective and affordable medicines, pharmaceutical care, public health and improved quality of life.

His campaign priorities included leveraging digital technology to strengthen pharmacists’ capacity, pursuing advocacy and legal measures to enforce existing regulations, tackling disorder in drug distribution and fostering a professional environment that supports pharmacists. He also promised to consolidate the society’s progress, promote favourable policies and position community pharmacies as healthcare hubs.

Accordingly, Adagadzu urged Ayuba to use his remaining year in office to address unresolved matters and demonstrate progress towards fulfilling his campaign promises.

“In his final year, I expect the PSN president to address lingering crises rocking some of the technical groups of the PSN, such as the ACPN and YPG, towards achieving unity or oneness among pharmacists; be fully in charge as the Commander-in-Chief of the PSN with minimal distractions; address his unfulfilled campaign promises, especially the need to support the pharmaceutical industry to increase its local production capacity in Nigeria towards achieving medicine security; confront the poor uptake of consultant pharmacists in federal and state health institutions and facilities; ensure the prompt implementation of actionable committee reports; and firmly oversee the centenary celebrations lined up for 2027, given their potential to increase the visibility of pharmacists,” he said.

Assessing the organisation of the PSN’s annual conference in recent years, Adagadzu expressed concern about technical groups holding their annual general meetings (AGMs) during the conference, arguing that this could distract from the event’s core programme. He called for a review of the arrangement ahead of this year’s conference.

He also lamented the absence of the society’s usual town hall meetings and annual general meetings, while criticising noisy and disorderly election campaigns that, he said, had overshadowed the conference’s main activities.

“Elections in PSN are witnessing the ploys employed in national elections, which are inimical to the professional cohesion once cherished by delegates. The majority of delegates no longer participate in sightseeing tours, for reasons the PSN leadership must look into. Transportation of delegates from hotels to conference venues is becoming quite challenging. More attention needs to be paid to some of these challenges to make PSN conferences the best they can be,” he said.

Conference expectations

Oyawole meanwhile said this year’s conference comes with high expectations and urged Ayuba and his team to ensure effective planning and execution. His recommendations include early communication, efficient logistics, better time management, affordable registration and accommodation, adequate food and welfare arrangements, high-quality speakers and presentations, evidence-based discussions, and opportunities for professional and business networking.

“We need speakers who can deliver evidence, not just titles,” he said. “For the theme ‘One Health, One Pharmacy’, we expect the Director-General of the NCDC, the NAFDAC Director-General, the PCN Registrar, the PVAC Coordinator, the WHO Nigeria Representative, and leaders from the veterinary and environmental sectors — not just pharmacy insiders.

“Registration should be fully digital, with QR-code badges and no queues. There should be partnerships with hotels to secure negotiated rates, shuttle buses, and clear signage at the venue. We have done this well in Kano (DABO 2025) and we should improve on it,” he advised.