A total of 387 pharmacies and patent medicine stores across Benue State have been sealed by the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, PCN.
Director of Inspection and Monitoring of the PCN, Anthonia Aruya, who made the disclosure on Friday in Makurdi, said the exercise was carried out within five days in continuation of the Council’s activities aimed at sanitising the system.
He said a total of 556 premises were visited comprising of 84 pharmacies and 472 patent medicine shops.
Those sealed comprise of 44 pharmacies and 303 patent medicine shops while 16 premises comprising of three pharmacies and 13 Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMV),were issued compliance directives for various offences ranging from poor handling of controlled substances, sale and dispensing of ethical/prescription drugs without the supervision of a pharmacist, unhygienic environment, poor documentation among others.
Aruya added that the exercise was meant to streamline the drug distribution value chain in order to promote the provision of safe, effective and quality medicine distributed along registered and currently licensed premises.
She advised the general public to ask for registration status of facilities where they access medicines by requesting for the current licenses issued by PCN from pharmaceutical outlets to guard against patronising quacks.
Aruya also appealed for cooperation from all stakeholders in the future even as she stressed that sensitisation and guidance for stakeholders would continue while those found wanting would be allowed to follow due process to acquire their licences.
