By Sola OGUNDIPE
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (Lagos State Branch) has described as “very vague and ambiguous” the reference to  a clique in its (Lagos PSN)  by the Lagos State Medicine Dealers Association (LSMDA).

In a press statement entitled “Medicine or  Dealers?”, the Society  challenged the LSMDA “to be very specific on the persons who constitute such a clique and what their larger motives are as well as what it suggests.”

The statement, signed by the Chairman, Pharm Lanre Familusi, also faulted the claim by the LSMDA that only NAFDAC and PCN have legal rights to close their premises.

With reference to Section 5 of Act 15 of 1993 as amended, which he said  it was the same Act that gives NAFDAC a mandate to seal pharmaceutical premises that also empowers the Lagos State Task Force on fake drugs.

“Today, the Federal Task Force is a department in NAFDAC which is the legal weapon NAFDAC can employ to seal premises which breach provisions of Act 25 of 1999.  In similar spirit, Section 8 of the same Act 25 of 1999 provides for the existence of State Task Forces in the 36 States of the Federation and Abuja.

“Specifically, Section 9(2) of Act 25 of 1999 statutorily mandates State Task Forces to seal all unregistered premises in Nigeria.

It is therefore very obvious that the Lagos State Task Force has a statutory right to seal all premises at Idumota which have been unregistered even by the account of LSMDA since 1992, a period of 18 years.

In the statement, the PSN Lagos branch stated that claims by the Lagos State Medicine Dealers Association of its members being distributors to major pharmaceutical companies and that they win awards, has been made possible by systemic weaknesses and failure of probably all existing institutional structures of the Nigeria State.

The statement said: “The law stipulates that companies can only appoint registered premises as distributors.  Pharmaceutical manufacturers and importers cleverly circumvent this either by selling to registered outlets of drug market dealers outside Idumota or sell to other registered companies who move stock to Idumota.  Whichever way it is run, it remains illegal and unlawful.

A more proactive Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) registry should ideally sanction companies that give awards to unregistered operators,” it noted.