THE Anambra State chapter of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has commended the Federal Government’s directive shutting all open drug markets in the country, beginning yesterday.

Chairman of the branch, Mrs. Chisom Uchem, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka yesterday that she was confident the implementation of the National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDGs) would help correct the existing chaotic drug distribution system.

“We are applauding the Federal Government on this bold step and want people to know that it is in the interest of Nigerians,” she said. “We cannot continue to risk lives; the implementation will help save lives, which would have been lost to the administration of fake drugs.

“As pharmacists, we have the mandate to protect lives all over the world, so it is a step in the right direction.”

Uchem, however, urged government to empower the regulatory agency whose work it is to enforce the directive. She also urged the agency to ensure that all illegal drug markets in Onitsha were shut.

She further appealed to patent medicine dealers not to see the directive as a way of putting them out of business, stating: “Recall that the Onitsha drug market, shut down some time ago, was reopened due to the absence of alternative drug distribution channel in the country.