Get Guardian on Google• Opposes medipool drug supply plan • Soludo, Pate seek pharmacists’ support in fight against fake drugs, others
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has called on the Federal Government to declare pharmaceutical insecurity a national security threat, warning that drug diversion, illicit trafficking and counterfeit medicines are fuelling insecurity and undermining public health.
The Society also urged the government to establish a Federal Drug Management Agency backed by law, insisting that the proposed Medipool drug procurement scheme must operate within a public sector framework.
President of the PSN, Ayuba Tanko, gave the charge during the opening ceremony of the Society’s 99th yearly national conference, tagged “Ijele 2026” and themed “One health, One Pharmacy: Bridging Knowledge, Practice and Policy for National Impact,” held at the International Convention Centre, Awka, Anambra State.
Tanko said the government must retain control of the pharmaceutical supply chain, particularly the procurement, storage, distribution and dispensing of medicines, to protect the country against drug diversion, counterfeiting and the financing of organised crime.
He said the Federal Government’s approval of Medipool as a National Group Purchasing Organisation in May 2025 had generated controversy over its legality and implications for public health and national security.
The PSN President acknowledged that pooled purchasing could reduce medicine costs, prevent stock-outs and improve transparency, but warned against handing over the entire drug supply chain of public health facilities to a private company.
He said the Society’s objection was not to group purchasing itself but to the structure and legality of the proposed arrangement.
Tanko said that the government must retain direct control of medicines because of their public health and security implications, particularly the risks associated with controlled and psychoactive drugs.
He said the involvement of a private company in the drug-utilisation chain could weaken collaboration between the government and regulatory agencies, including the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Meanwhile, Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has advocated stronger collaboration with pharmacists in the fight to stamp out fake and adulterated drugs, quackery and other unwholesome practices in the health sector.
Soludo, who noted that the state passes for the biggest drug market in Africa, lamented the huge negative impact counterfeit drugs would have in the lives of the citizens if not adequately checked.
Besides, he decried the cover up pharmacists give to unqualified drug dealers through their certification.
He made these views in Awka, the state capital, while declaring open the six-day national conference of the PSN.
The governor described pharmacists as indispensable partners in building an efficient and sustainable healthcare system.
He, therefore, urged the professional body to work with his administration to enforce standards and sanitise the pharmaceutical sector, particularly by tackling counterfeit medicines and illegal operators posing as licensed pharmacies.
Soludo revealed that his administration was consolidating on the state’s position as a pharmaceutical hub through the development of a pharmaceutical hub in Oba, Idemili South Local Council and a Coordinated Wholesale Centre, which he said was expected to be completed early next year.
In his goodwill message, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, reaffirmed support for the theme, stressing inter-professional collaboration to build a resilient healthcare delivery.
Pate, who stressed the need for localisation of the pharmaceutical value chain, spanning from local research and raw material sourcing to manufacturing, strict quality assurance, and streamlined distribution, called for boosting demand for local medicines.
