The Federal Government has passed a new Pharmacy Act authorizing the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) to regulate all stakeholders in the distribution chain. Professor Ahmed Tijani Mura, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the organization, announced the disclosure in Abuja during the presentation of the PCN (Incorporation) Act 2022 on Monday.
He said the Nigerian Pharmacy Board Act empowered the Registrar to revoke licenses and regulate all stakeholders involved in the pharmacy distribution chain; such as pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, sellers of patent medicines, manufacturers, importers and wholesalers, among others; saying it was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2022. .
He stressed that the fines for crimes in the old law ranged from NGN250 to NGN1,000, and have been increased to between 250 thousand and 2 million in the new law. According to him, “The fines are meant to act as a deterrent for people not to fall short of the minimum standards expected of them. The board is a regulatory agency. We are not a for-profit organization and we are corrective and not punitive. We are dealing with drugs that make the difference between life and death. That is why. The reason is we have to be organised.” He explained that the Federal Supreme Court, under the new law, has jurisdiction to hear and decide on criminal and civil cases.
He thanked the president and all the people who made the passage of the bill into law possible.
