The Nationwide Company for Meals and Drug Administration and Management in collaboration with the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria on Monday raided and sealed no fewer than 1,321 patent medication shops on the Sabon Gari open market in Kano.
The regulators' joint enforcement operations group got here 72 hours after the Federal Excessive Courtroom ordered the drug sellers to vacate their premises within the open market and relocate to the Coordinated Wholesale Heart in Dangwauro village on Zaria street within the state.
Briefing journalists on Monday, the NAFDAC Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Mr. Francis Ononiwu, defined that the closure was a part of the train of his mandate to cleanse unhealthy pharmaceutical practices from the sellers.
In accordance with Mr Ononiwu, patent medication merchants have over time posed an imminent menace to public well being because of the distribution of unhealthy pharmaceutical merchandise to unsuspected members of the general public.
Regardless of working with out legitimate registration or certification by PCN and different regulatory our bodies, the NAFDAC official expressed concern that drug sellers have established a chaotic provide chain, which is detrimental to the efficacy of pharmaceutical merchandise.
He additional disclosed that NAFDAC and PCN are mandated to forcibly evict the drug peddlers from the Sabon Gari open market and relocate them to a government-designed Wholesale Coordination Heart, following the court docket judgment.
He wished the sellers to see the optimistic purpose behind their transfer to the coordinated heart as a part of efforts to fight drug abuse within the nation.
“Following the court docket judgment ordering the relocation of patent drug sellers to CWC, the joint enforcement group of NAFDAC and PCN commenced the enforcement motion between February 17 and 18, closing down no fewer than 1,321 shops.
“The operations have been carried out in step with the enforcement and regulatory function of the businesses required to wash up the distribution of medicines in Nigeria and checkmate the chaotic provide of pharmaceutical merchandise on the open market, a growth that’s detrimental for public well being.
“These individuals have brought about numerous injury to the well being of the society as a result of other than meting out counterfeit and adulterated medicines, they don’t have the required chilly cupboard space for storing pharmaceutical merchandise. Due to this alone, many medicines on their cabinets have misplaced their effectiveness as a result of excessive temperature the place they inventory the merchandise.”
In the meantime, Sabon patent medication sellers on Monday gathered on the Kano State Home to precise their displeasure over the eviction and relocation order issued by the court docket.
The long-time drug sellers holding placards with numerous inscriptions denouncing their high-powered vacation alongside the nationwide freeway begged the state authorities to intervene.
Talking on the authorities constructing, affiliation chairman Alh. Musbahu Khalid lamented the exploitation suffered by the homeowners of the brand new heart in Dangwauro village. He, nevertheless, appealed to the state authorities to take over the CWC for its correct administration.
Receiving the injured drug sellers, Alh. Shehu Sagagi, chief of employees to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, referred to as for calm and warned them to not take the legal guidelines into their palms. He promised that the federal government would look into the event to deal with the scenario amicably.
