The Association of Pharmacy and Patent Medicine Vendors in Katsina State, has expressed concern over the closure of some pharmacies across the state by the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN).
The association expressed its concern when members paid a courtesy visit to the Magajin Garin Katsina, Aminu Abdulmulmuminu-Kabir, on Friday in Katsina.
Speaking on behalf of the members, the spokesman of the association, Abu Safyanu said the action by the PCN’s Officer in-charge of the state, Mrs Farida Ibrahim, was doubling their hardship.
He said: “We’re doing our legitimate businesses, but all of a sudden, since she assumed office about a year and half ago, she has been making things difficult for us.
“At least if we’re doing something not in line with their rules and regulations, they should call our attention so that we can correct it, but instead the officials will just walk into our shops without notice.
“She’ll just walk into our shops and take away some drugs and go away with them. We don’t even know where she’s taking them to. Or she’ll just come and lock our shops.
“Therefore, we’re appealing to the Emirate Council to intervene in this issue, considering the current economic situation in the country, so that we can continue to feed our families.”
According to him, members of the association are not only into the business for their benefit alone, but also for the benefit of the general public in the state.
He said that the association was also supporting the government through reducing unemployment rate, saying that each of them was an employer of people from three to 10 under him/her.
Safyanu explained that patent medicine vendors in the state were not into any illegal activity, “therefore the PCN should stop sealing our pharmacies.”
Responding, the representative of the Magajin Garin Katsina, the Wakilin Kudu, Abdu Iliyasu assured the association that the emirate council would do everything possible to intervene in the issue.
Investigation reveals that the PCN during inspection, has also sealed the premises of Lugga Pharmacy Ltd.
However, a document indicated that the management of the firm had applied and gotten a court order granting it the permission to reopen, restraining the PCN from further sealing of the pharmacy.
In her response, Mrs Ibrahim said PCN was charged with the responsibility to regulate the practice of pharmacy, education and training in every aspect and ramifications, including patent medicine vendors, as well as pharmacy technicians.
She disclosed that over 100 pharmacies were closed for not abiding by the PCN rules and regulations, one of which she said, was the 200 meter distance between one pharmacy to another.
Ibrahim explained that, “Patent and proprietary vendors, are people that have been licensed, because of the shortage in the number of pharmacies in the country.
“Individuals have been licensed to sell what we call over encounter medications. These are medications that don’t need a doctor’s prescription, and they don’t need to be refilled.
“There are medicines you can just walk into patent medicine vendor and request for. So patent medicine vendors have a list of medicines they can serve by way of their education and licensure.
“As part of efforts to achieve our mandate of effective regulation, we conduct education, do orientation programmes for new vendors, monitoring and inspections as well as enforcement activities from time to time.”
She pointed out that if at the cause of the routine inspection, they notice some bridge issues or regulatory breaches, PCN would advise the vendors, depending on the severity of action.
“If it’s minimal, we give them corrective action, if it’s little, we can still give preventive action, if it’s serious enough we enforce immediately by taking the necessary action.
“Note that the fact that you are licensed, does not guarantee a license for life. If for any reason, we see that what we grant you license for is not what you’re doing, that license can be withdrawn after doing monitoring.
“These are some of the issues that led to the closure of those pharmacies, including failure to renew the license,” the PCN officer said.
NAN
