The Federal Government has urged pharmacists to collaborate with government agencies, academia and industry stakeholders to tackle drug counterfeiting, and antimicrobial resistance in the healthcare sector.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Esther Walson-Jack, who spoke at the inauguration of İbrahim Ayuba as the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and investiture of 145 new fellows of the society in Abuja, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to enhance the welfare of healthcare professionals in the country.

She observed that the civil service being the engine of government policy implementation recognises the crucial role of pharmacists in achieving the Universal Health Coverage (UHC), ensuring drug security and promoting public health.

Walson-Jack noted that the role of pharmacists in the healthcare system cannot be over-emphasised, adding that as custodians of medicines, drug therapy and pharmaceutical care, pharmacists, play a vital role in ensuring the well-being of the citizens.

She said the unwavering support of pharmacists to quality healthcare delivery, research and innovation is a testament to the strategic importance of the profession in nation-building, adding that PSN has remained a beacon of excellence, upholding the highest ethical and professional standards in service to humanity.

She said that the government will continue to foster policies that support professional development, encourage research and innovation, and create an environment enabling pharmaceutical practice to thrive.

According to her, the ceremony is not only a celebration of excellence in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical profession but also the invaluable contributions of pharmacists to the national development.

She expressed confidence that the PSN under Ayuba’s leadership, will continue to make remarkable strides in ensuring that pharmacists remain at the forefront of healthcare policy formulation, drug security and overall national health advancement.

Ayuba urged the Federal Government to develop functional and requisite manpower to advance the goals of healthcare and reverse the negativities associated with the health sector in the country.

He stated that Nigeria has been bedevilled with a seemingly unproductive health sector, which is characterised by negative health indices, brain drain and other negative symptoms.

He noted that one of the strategies that has evolved in the quest to boost healthcare is the approval of the health system consultant cadre in pharmacy practice, which is geared toward a holistic workforce in pharmacy and health education, as well as catalyse specialised care.

Ayuba recalled that the National Council on Establishment (NCE) first approved this cadre in 2011, adding that despite a reinforced approval in 2021, and enabling circulars by the Federal Ministry of Health, challenges persisted.

He stated that the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHSOF) gave final establishment approval by creating vacancies for consultant pharmacists in the civil service, comprising all the MDAs at federal and state government levels in late 2024.

The PSN president alleged that despite the immensity of the inherent benefits the consultant cadre offers the health system, it has become crystal clear that the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the Federal Health Institutions (FHIs) are bent on frustrating the gains of this cadre because over 15 months after all hurdles have been crossed less than 15 per cent of the FHIs have appointed consultant pharmacists in their institutions.

He called on the Pate-led administration at the FMOH to invoke its circular to FHIs, which declared an intention to sanction CMDS/MDS/CEOs of FHIs, which refuse to implement the consultant cadre circular for pharmacists.

“It is the height of disrespect that the office of the Head of Service of the Federation has issued a circular for many months now and civil servants flagrantly disobey it without consequences. This act of indiscipline, which is contrary to Public Service Rules (PSR) as it amounts to insubordination, needs to be immediately revisited for the sake of posterity by the OHSOF.”

He lamented that the state governments have not shown enough commitment to the approved consultant cadre in pharmacy practice with its gross potential because only 10 states have given approvals to date.

“The case of Lagos State perceived as the centre of excellence is particularly worrisome as the consultant cadre circular in pharmacy practice approved in 2018 by the Ambode administration was suspended and primordial sentiments in the Government House in Lagos have ensured that the necessary approval remains truncated because a particular professional group.”

Ayuba, who called for the reconstitution of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), said that Nigerians have been inundated with news of a renewed influx of fake drugs in recent months, which got to a climax recently with the closure of the drug markets in Lagos, Aba and Onitsha.

He stated that the PCN and the National Agency for Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) are the two major regulatory agencies of the Federal Government that are involved in the regulation and control of the value chain of drug distribution.

Ayuba posited that the NAFDAC board is fully constituted to fast-track the full capacity of its statutory functions in the areas of enforcement of extant laws concerning pharmaceutical premises and lamented that the situation at PCN, which has powers to inspect, register and licence all pharmaceutical premises.

According to him, the absence of a lawfully constituted PCN hinders full enforcement on pharmaceutical premises, accreditation of training facilities in the pharma sector and implementation of disciplinary activities as the Chairman of the PCN is the statutory Chairman of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the PCN.

Ayuba insisted that the PCN and NAFDAC must be allowed to collaborate in managing the fallout of the sealed Open Drug Markets (ODMs). He said: “There are genuine players in these ODMs, the PCN must be allowed to extract firm commitment through letters of undertaking from the ranks of the over 11,000 sealed premises on their willingness to leave the ODMs and relocate to the CWC in the catchment area.”

“This is the partnership we must leverage at this critical juncture to effectively fight the fake drug menace now put at over a trillion-naira market. We solicit the approval of the minister to inaugurate the PCN to enable a full collaboration of the PCN and NAFDAC to tackle the hydra-headed menace of the fake drug syndrome.”

He assured the Federal Government and Nigerians that the PSN will uphold the ideals of Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP), which is a global norm in the quest to preserve the lives of Nigerians.