The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has shut no fewer than 751 medicine stores in Gombe State open drug market.
This is coming on the heels of the regulatory body’s decision to curtail the operations of patent medicine vendors whose activities are not in compliance with the laws guiding the practice.
Prior to the closure of the Gombe medicine stores, the PCN Registrar, Pharm. Babashehu Ahmed, had disclosed to Pharmanewsonline in an exclusive interview, the plan of the agency to shut down major open drug markets in Lagos, Anambra, Abia, and any other part of the country.
The Director of Enforcement, Stephen Esumobi, in a statement said the business premises were sealed for offences that included sales of medicines in the open market, operating without registration with the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, poor documentation, poor storage facilities and stocking of ethical products without the supervision of a pharmacist.
He explained the 751 shops were shut during the PCN enforcement activities in five Local Government Areas of Gombe State from 20 to 25 April,2024.
The affected LGAs where the enforcement was done were Gombe, Akko, Yalmatu Deba, Funakaye and Billiri.
“At the end of the exercise, a total of 1001 premises were visited. This is made up of 71 pharmacies, 346 patent medicine shops and 584 illegal premises including those in Gombe open drug market.
“A total of 751 premises were sealed, which include 39 pharmacies, 128 patent medicine shops and 584 illegal medicine shops,” Esumobi added.
While the PCN is not interested in crippling businesses, it has also expressed its zero tolerance for illegality, as it is willing to assist all medicine dealers in the open drug markets who are ready to play by the rules.
The PCN Registrar, noted that aside from the disturbing operations of illegal medicine dealers, there are many licensed patent medicine stores who are violating the Pharmacy Act of 2022, which stipulates, among other conditions for the storage and dispensing of ethical drugs, that such must be under the supervision of a pharmacist.
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