Hussaini Umar
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has called on the Federal Government to sanction companies and pharmacists involved in illegal drug distribution activities within Federal Health Institutions across the country.
In a statement on Friday, the National Chairman of the Association, Mr Ezeh Ambrose Igwekamma, condemned what he described as widespread and unlawful pharmaceutical practices in various Public–Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements in public hospitals.
Mr Ezeh said that some unregistered private pharmacy operators had taken over drug distribution within federal hospitals due to weak oversight by regulatory agencies.
He also accused the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) of allowing these violations to persist, despite repeated warnings from the Association between 2020 and 2022.
According to him, institutions mandated to enforce the law are now supporting practices that directly undermine it.
The ACPN Chairman insisted that the PPP models being implemented in several federal hospitals, including University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, National Hospital Abuja, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) Sokoto, and FMCs in Makurdi, Umuahia, and Jabi, contravene multiple provisions of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) Act 2022 and the Public Procurement Act 2007.
He cited specific sections of the PCN Act, which prohibit private pharmacies from operating within public hospitals and classify the operation of unregistered pharmacies as a criminal offence.
Mr Ezeh who therefore urged the federal government to enforce sanctions against the affected hospitals, companies, and pharmacists, said that failure to act fast would encourage further breakdown of standards in drug handling and patient care.
He also warned superintendent pharmacists whose practising licences are being used to legitimise such illegal partnerships to regularise their status before the end of 2025, or face disciplinary action in 2026.
Mr Ezeh who reaffirmed the Association’s stance, said restoring legality and professionalism in drug distribution was vital to ending drug shortages and ensuring accountability in the health sector.
“We are calling on President Bola Tinubu to direct the Coordinating Minister of Health to stop this lawlessness, the government must sanction all those involved and restore order in the nation’s pharmaceutical system”.
The ACPN maintained that ensuring drug security and transparency in public hospitals can only be achieved through proper management of the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF), support for local manufacturing, and strict adherence to Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) standards.
