Bauchi state office of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 98 Patent Medicine Shops in the state capital for defaults in license to operate in the state.
The PCN State Officer Pharmacist Bakwa Nenlep revealed this to newsmen after two days inspection of the Patent Medicine Shops in the state capital by the Task Force Committee on Patent and Proprietors Vendors license in the state, saying the 98 shops sealed are only those within the state capital.
He added that the 98 patent medicine shops were locked in an effort to sanitise the system and also sensitize the vendors on the need to be properly licenced and stop the sales of illicit drugs, especially to the teeming youths, and also to regulate the proliferation of patent medicine vendors in the communities.
Nenlep emphasized that the exercise would be a continuous process mainly to monitor and encourage the vendors to secure licenses for their shops and be bonafide members recognized by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, saying “very soon we are going to Local Government Areas for inspection.”
According to him,to make the vendors understand the guidelines which provide, among others, that ownership of Patent Medicine Shops should be open to all Nigerians who have met the requirements is important, stressing that the guidelines should be respected in order not to infringe on the rights of citizens.
“The unscheduled inspection of patent medicine shops by the PCN is an essential part of its regulatory mandate to ensure rational distribution and dispensing of medicines in the state,” Pharmacist Nenlep said, noting that PCN has given assurance that it will re-structure its licensing processes to enhance efficiency.
The state officer also said that it is their duty to educate vendors on the need to promptly pay for their licenses and sign posts to avoid delay in their issuance.
