By Ahmad Umar
Pharmacists Council of Nigeria has sealed 596 patent medicine shops and pharmacies in Gombe state to enforce standards for optimum pharmaceutical services.
Director Inspection and Monitoring of the Council, Mrs Anthonia Aruya disclosed this at a press conference in Gombe, North East of the country on Friday.
She said that the Council was carrying out enforcement activities across the country in fulfilment of the Council’s mandate of ensuring that minimum standards of practice are maintained by all players in the pharmaceutical sector.
“Observation from the field in Gombe state revealed that many people go into sale of medicines without following due process, others do not have the requisite knowledge or skills to handle medicine in their premises or are operating beyond their approved scope.
“Many shops were found to stock and sell controlled substances in disregard of the law, further endangering the public and it’s also quite disheartening that some Cannot communicate in plain English and operate these illegal shops at will to the detriment of the unsuspecting public.
“The implication of non-licensure is the fact that drugs sold in such facilities cannot be guaranteed to have the same quality and efficacy as set by the manufacturer since the unregistered facilities have not been subjected to regulatory control that will promote the maintenance of the integrity of such products down the value chain” she explained.