Amidst a deafening applause, the trio of Dr Chukwuka Obiorah, chairman of Greenlife Pharmaceuticals; Dr Fidelis Ayebae, managing director of Fidson Healthcare Plc and Mr. Femi Soremekun, managing director of Biofem Pharmaceuticals were inducted into the hall of honourary membership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN).
The investiture ceremony which took place at the just concluded 89th Annual National Conference held at Justice Idris Legbo Kutigbo International Conference Centre in Minna, Niger State on November 8, 2016 has several distinguished pharmacists (both within and outside the country) in attendance.
While presenting them with awards, Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, PSN president, announced to the audience on a lighter mood that by the power conferred on him as the president, he is glad to confer the society’s first set of honourary membership awards on the recipients who he strongly believed have paid their dues in the pharmaceutical industry.
“Until I came across him, I didn’t know that Dr (Fidelis) Ayebae is not a pharmacist. Yet he has built a factory that costs about N9 million and made donation of over N3 million to both the PSN and board of fellows. Now my office at the secretariat is looking brand new,” he enthused.
On Soremekun, Yakasai disclosed that long before he became the president, the Biofem owner is known to be a strong advocate of the society. He added that manay donations and relative-assistance rendered to the PSN usually have Soremekun’s handwriting all over them.
The last of the trio, Chukwuka Obiorah, has been described as an enviable personality many pharmacists look up to
“In fact, nobody will ever believe that the owner of Lonart antimalarial drug is nowhere near being a pharmacist. Yet his foot prints are everywhere. I hereby congratulate you today as I can confidently say that you have earned your honourary membership of this society,” the PSN president stressed.
In response, two recipients of the awards (Ayebae and Soremekun) applauded the award and pledged to not only abide by all the society’s rules and regulations but equally strive to always represent the profession well.
The last recipient, Obiorah, threw the audience into a hilarious mood when he announced that he has already atoned for his ‘sin’ now that two of his children are trained pharmacists.
In attendance at the event were Pharm. N.AE. Mohammed, registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN); Pharm. Bruno Nwankwo, former chairman, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN); Pharm. Olu Akanmu, senior vice president, retail banking at First City Monument Bank (FCMB); Olumide Akintayo, immediate past president of the society and Pharm. Ade Popoola, former chairman, PSN Board of Fellows; Prof Mike Ogirima, president, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA); Prof. Isaac Adewole, minister of health; Hajia Amina Bello, wife of Niger State governor and Dr Mustapha Jibril, Niger State commissioner for health.
Others were Sen. (Pharm.) Eme Ufot Ekaette, past PSN president; Dr Ibrahim Getso, Kano commissioner for health; Professor (Mrs.) Mbang Femi-Oyewo, MFR, former deputy vice chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University; Pharm. Gbolagade Iyiola, PSN national secretary; Pharm. Ifeanyi Atueyi, managing director of Pharmanews Limited; Pharm. Arinola Joda, PSN national publicity secretary Pharm. Ike Onyechi, managing director of Alpha Pharmacy; directors of pharmaceutical services and other relevant stakeholders.
