The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has cautioned the National Assembly against unnecessary bureaucracies in proposed amendments to the National Health Act (NH-Act) 2014 and the creation of additional health commissions.

The position was contained in a statement jointly signed by the ACPN National Chairman, Pharm. Ambrose Igwekamma Ezeh, and National Secretary, Pharm. Omokhafe Ashore, following public hearings held at the House of Representatives on November 18, 2025, and at the Senate on November 24, 2025.

According to ACPN, various groups had pushed for the establishment of a Surrogacy Commission, a National Accreditation and Standards Commission, a Tertiary Health Institutions Commission, and Sickle Cell Research and Therapy Centres across all six geopolitical zones and the FCT. But the association described these proposals as legally unnecessary, economically unrealistic, and administratively wasteful.

The group argued that the National Health Act already created the National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee (NTHISC), which holds the lawful mandate to regulate tertiary hospitals, accreditation processes, organ procurement/trafficking controls, and related standards.

“The attempt to create three commissions from the legal structures established in NH-Act 2014 is unnecessary.

All endeavours about the regulation of organ trafficking and procurement, surrogacy, and the monitoring and regulatory appraisals of standards or accreditation of Tertiary Hospital Facilities are already lawfully vested in the NTHISC,” the group said.

The association added that what has been lacking is not new commissions, but proper oversight and adequate budgetary support for existing regulatory structures.

“What is missing has been adequate oversight responsibilities by the National Assembly, which ought to insist on providing a robust budget that positions the NTHISC to carry out its statutory responsibilities,” the statement said.