321 medicine shops, premises sealed in Bayelsa

Abiodun Oba

Over 321 premises have been sealed up in Bayelsa for varying noticeable infractions, including sale of medicines without following due process by the Pharmacists Council.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Bayelsa is the 28th state the council is carrying out the monitoring and enforcement in nationwide.

The PCN’s Director, Inspection and Monitoring, Mrs Anthonia Aruya, made the disclosure at a news conference in Yenagoa on Friday.

“About 321 premises were sealed, comprising 36 pharmacies, 285 patent medicine stores, 13 premises of seven Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors.

“Six premises were given compliance directives for various offences ranging from improper handling of controlled substances, unhygienic environment, poor documentation, as well as dispensing ethical and prescription drugs without the presence of a pharmacist.

“Observations from the field in Bayelsa revealed that many people go into sale of medicines without following due process.

“Others do not have the requisite knowledge or skills to handle medicines in their premises or are operating beyond their approved scope by the Federal Government, which is inappropriate,” Aruya said.

She urged the public to always source its drug needs from registered pharmacy outlets and over the counter drugs as those sold in unregistered outlets could not be guaranteed to be genuine.