By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — A retail pharmacy operator has petitioned the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), questioning the Council’s licence approval process after its 2023 application to operate a retail pharmacy in Kubwa, Abuja, was rejected, while another operator was later approved to operate at the same premises.

In a petition dated 4 February 2026 submitted through its legal representatives, Lawrence Alabi & Co (Victory Chambers), Eleosgate Pharmacy and Stores Limited asked the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate Committee (PIC), acting on behalf of the PCN, to review what it described as inconsistencies in the application of pharmacy location approval rules.

The dispute relates to the company’s application, filed on 24 May 2023, seeking location approval to operate a retail pharmacy at Bahamas Plaza, Plot L35 FCDA Scheme, along Cardinal John Onaiyekan Street, Extension III, Kubwa.

Although the application was acknowledged by the Council, it was later declined on the grounds that the proposed site allegedly fell within 200 metres of an already approved pharmacy, contrary to regulatory requirements.

According to the petition, the rejection was communicated without a transparent measurement report, documented site assessment, or verifiable inspection record showing how the 200-metre distance rule was determined.

The company said the matter resurfaced after it discovered that another pharmaceutical operator had recently been granted approval to operate a retail pharmacy within the same Bahamas Plaza, despite what it said were unchanged physical and environmental conditions at the location since 2023.

“It is deeply troubling that a location previously adjudged to be in violation of the 200-metre requirement has now been declared compliant for another applicant without any physical, environmental, or regulatory changes,” the petition stated.

In its petition, the company requested a formal investigation into the officers and processes responsible for the decision, a review of the rejection of its 2023 application, and public disclosure of the measurement and inspection records relied upon both in rejecting its application and in granting approval to the subsequent operator at the same location.

It also indicated that failure by the regulator to address the concerns could lead to escalation of the matter to anti-corruption and law-enforcement agencies, including the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).