Licensed drug vendors cry out over closure of shops

The national president, Mr Vincent Mamah, raised the alarm while addressing newsmen on the alleged seizure of drugs and closure of shops of licensed drugs dealers by agents of the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria (PCN).He said the action was going on despite the pendency of a suit instituted by NAPPMED before the Federal High Court […]

The national president, Mr Vincent Mamah, raised the alarm while addressing newsmen on the alleged seizure of drugs and closure of shops of licensed drugs dealers by agents of the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria (PCN).
He said the action was going on despite the pendency of a suit instituted by NAPPMED before the Federal High Court Abuja against the PCN, the Minister of Health and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) over the matter.
He said the issue of guidelines for drug dealership has been determined by a Federal High Court in Lagos in 1996 upon which NAPPMED is sanitizing the sector, adding that the PCN, acting on fresh guidelines in 2003, has taken the laws into its hands by confiscating drugs worth millions of naira from their members.
Mamah said the court then had upheld NAPPMED’s submission that only the president through the Minister of Health can issue licences to patent medicine dealers and not the PCN.
Daily Trust inquiries showed that Justice Ademola Adeniyi has fixed November 11 to hear the suit by NAPPMED where it is challenging the new guidelines.