… Restrict access to dangerous drugs, Abayomi tells Lagos pharmacists
By Chioma Obinna
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, Lagos State branch, has raised the alarm over a weakening drug regulatory system in the state, warning that shortage of pharmacists in key regulatory positions and the prolonged absence of a fully inaugurated Governing Council of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, PCN, could expose Nigerians to unsafe medicines and poor pharmacy practice.
The society also called for urgent action by the Federal Government to inaugurate the PCN Governing Council, saying the regulatory vacuum had affected accreditation, discipline and other critical functions.
Chairman of PSN Lagos, Pharm. Olaitan Ogunlade, raised the concerns while addressing pharmacists at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Pharmacy Week in Lagos.
Ogunlade said the issue had direct implications for public safety, given the role of pharmacists in regulating medicines, pharmaceutical premises and professional practice.
He said the Directorate of Pharmaceutical Services, DPS, in the Lagos State Ministry of Health was facing serious manpower constraints, weakening its capacity for drug inspection, quality control, counterfeit medicine enforcement and pharmaceutical regulation.
“This is already creating gaps in drug control and weakening compliance structures across the health system,” he warned.
Ogunlade urged the Lagos State Government to strengthen the DPS by recruiting more pharmacists and restoring adequate professional manpower to critical regulatory positions.
He also called for the immediate inauguration of the PCN Governing Council, saying the regulatory body could not effectively discharge its responsibilities without a properly constituted council.
“We have been very patient even when we never solicited the amendment of the PCN Act 2022. In the last three years, full and lawful accreditation of training facilities, disciplinary measures and vital practice matters have suffered,” he said.
He urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to inaugurate the council in accordance with the PCN Act 2022.
“The PSN, Lagos State, on behalf of pharmacists, calls on the FMOH to immediately inaugurate the PCN in alignment with the existing PCN Act,” Ogunlade said.
He said any future amendment of the pharmacy law should not be allowed to paralyse the existing regulatory structure.
Meanwhile, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, warned that unrestricted access to medicines could have serious consequences for public health and the environment.
“It shouldn’t be easy to access a restricted drug. It should be extremely difficult. We need to build a cage around restricted drugs for the benefit of us and for the benefit of the environment,” Abayomi said.
He said regulation must cover hospitals, community pharmacies, laboratories and veterinary services, warning that antimicrobial residues, hormones, pesticides and other chemicals could enter the human food chain through milk, eggs, fish and meat.
Abayomi disclosed that more than half of Lagos residents may first seek healthcare from community pharmacies, patent and proprietary medicine vendors, PPMVs, and traditional medicine practitioners before visiting formal health facilities.
“More than 50%, almost 60%, will go to our PPMVs, our community pharmacies, our traditional medicine practitioners as the first point of call in a health-seeking encounter,” he said.
He described community pharmacies and PPMVs as important grassroots health resources that should be integrated into a stronger regulatory and referral system.
“PPMVs do great work. They are custodians of health. They are right at the grassroots. They are on every street,” he said.
Abayomi proposed a regulated “hub-and-spoke” system in which community pharmacists could support PPMVs through training, referral, medication guidance, pharmacovigilance and product-quality monitoring.
He said such collaboration could strengthen community-level screening and referral for malaria, hypertension, diabetes and tuberculosis.
The commissioner also cautioned against uncontrolled self-testing and self-medication as diagnostic technologies become increasingly available outside conventional laboratories.
“Point-of-care testing is something that needs careful understanding, accredited point-of-care gadgets, training and technical support,” he said.
He disclosed that Lagos State was developing a point-of-care testing policy to ensure diagnostic devices used in communities were properly assessed and accredited.
Abayomi further warned healthcare professionals against practising beyond the limits of their training and licences. “You can be a professional, a medical professional, and still practise quackery. The moment you start doing something that you have not been licensed to do by virtue of your training and licensing, then you are practising on dangerous territory,” he said.
Ogunlade said the PCN was responsible for regulating pharmacy education, training, practice and pharmaceutical businesses, including accreditation, inspection, enforcement of standards and discipline of erring practitioners.
He called for a technically competent PCN Governing Council comprising experienced pharmacists, academics, directors of pharmaceutical services and other relevant professionals, alongside representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health, PCN, NAFDAC and pharmacy technicians.
The PSN chairman also expressed concern over the proliferation of unregistered pharmaceutical premises, warning that weak oversight could expose Nigerians to practices below Good Pharmacy Practice standards.
He urged government and professional bodies to close the regulatory gaps and strengthen pharmaceutical governance.
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