- The PCN has accused patent medicine vendors in Kano State of refusing to relocate to the newly constructed drugs-only market because they deal in counterfeit and illegal drugs
- The PCN has said that it will collaborate with the police to ensure that the vendors relocate to the new market
According to the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), most of the patent medicine vendors in Kano State who have refused to relocate to the newly constructed drugs-only market have ulterior motives.
According to the council’s Registrar, Ibrahim Baba Shehu, the traders refuse to leave the markets out of fear of government regulation because they deal in counterfeit and illegal drugs.
According to reports, the state government has built a multi-billion naira drugs-only market in collaboration with a commercial bank to regulate their activities. The traders, on the other hand, have refused to relocate to the market.
However, when the PCN Registrar led a council delegation to Kano State Commissioner of Police, Usaini Muhammad Gumel, over the weekend, he stated that drugs are only openly sold in markets in Nigeria.
Shehu said;
No law approves selling medicine in markets, and that is why we are appealing to them to relocate before the deadline which will come soon.
The new market will have PCN, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) and Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) offices. So, only people with ulterior motives or who are into illegal drugs would be dragging the issue. That is why we want to collaborate with the police so that when the deadline comes, they can help us do the needful.
The problem is everywhere in the country, but it’s more prevalent in Kano, Lagos and Anambra, he explained.
Responding, the CP promised to give the council all the necessary assistance to curb the state of illegal drug dealings.
Gumel explained that sellers of drugs in markets contribute so much to drug abuse which in turn leads to insecurity.
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