Azubuike Okwor is the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN). He is a fellow of the society and was recently awarded the prestigious fellowship of Federation of International Pharmacists (FIP). He spoke with IBUKUNOLUWA KAYODE on the controversy surrounding the tenure of the Registrar of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), which is the regulatory organ for the practise of pharmacy in the country and other issues confronting the profession.PHARMACISTS Council of Nigeria has been in the news for the wrong reasons. What exactly are the problems'The fundamental problem is not new. It is one that my leadership actually inherited. There was a violation of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) Act when the PCN was re-constituted in July 2009. A provision in Section 3(1)f of the PCN Act gives the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) a privilege to recommend its members to the Minister of Health for appointment into PCN. In compliance with this provision, the immediate past Minister of Health, Prof. Osotimehin requested for nominees of the PSN in February 2009 and we duly complied by forwarding a list to the Federal Ministry of Health.On July 28, 2009, when the list of members of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria was published alongside members of other parastatals via a Punch newspaper advert, we saw a strange list of persons not recommended by the PSN. We protested then and in fact Prof. Osotimehin was not going to inaugurate the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria along others on July 29, 2009 until the Office of the Secretary of Government of the Federation (SGF) then held by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed directed that the inauguration must hold while lapses would be redressed. This is the aspect that is appalling because the erstwhile SGF who admitted to us on the occasion of a courtesy visit that there were procedural errors in his office and therefore promised to redress same never fulfilled his promise before his exit.The unlawful Pharmacists Council of Nigeria has waged a reign of terror on pharmacists while this unfortunate situation has lasted. It attempted to force us to adopt on-line registration without consultation with us, insisted on Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) Programme as a condition precedent for recertification of laws even when the courts have ruled otherwise and blatantly refused to pay the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria statutory fees accruing to it from the proceeds of the licencing fees of its members. In the first two scenarios it took the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Health to get the Registrar of Pharmacists Council of Nigeria to fall in line.The shortfall in remittances to PSN is in the range of hundreds of millions in naira. That gives you a mental picture of abuse potential when government refuses to act as at due.The many aberrations culminated in the refusal of the Registrar to quit office after clarifications and pronouncements from the office of the Head of Service of the Federation revealed that Public Service Rule 020810 which declares that directors on GL 17 or its equivalent (HATISS 15) must retire after eight (8) years in office. This is irrespective of whether they are up to 60 years in age or have put in 35 years in service. The Registrar was appointed as Registrar/Secretary of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria on HATISS 15 on October 1, 2003, which implies he is due for retirement on September 30, 2011. There are attempts to manipulate this Public Service Rule on the tenor of senior government officials by the hierarchy of the PCN, which incidentally is an agency that is supposed to uphold the ethics and values of our profession.To what extent have you gone in making the authorities appreciate the issues and solve them once for all'We initially took the matter of the unlawful constitution to court but instructed our counsel to withdraw the suit because some senior government officials and elders in the profession advised us to back down. We have intimated all the relevant government officials including the erstwhile Health Minister, Prof. Osotimehin, the incumbent, Prof. C. O. Chukwu and the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke and others. We are aware that the Federal Ministry of Health had actually sent a memo to the Presidency alerting it of the unlawful constitution of the PCN and advising on a need to re-constitute it. We have in the past sent memos to President Jonathan and only recently sent an open letter to him on these issues.Recently, you were on the war path with veterinary doctors on the issue of registration of veterinary drugs. What is the latest position on that'The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria took interest in the recent publications attributed to the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), which is trying to suggest alien standards in the registration procedure for veterinary drugs in Nigeria. We at the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria will always be focused and shall continue to champion issues pertaining to protecting/preserving public health interest. It is in the light of this that the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria posits as reflected with respect to issues relating to the registration of veterinary drugs in Nigeria.Section 2(3) of Act 19 of 1993 as amended states inter-alia 'where the Agency is satisfied that there is need to register the drug, drug product, cosmetic or medical device, it shall do so and issue to the applicant a certificate of registration, subject to such a condition as may deem necessary'. For the records, the conditions to meet before a drug can be registered in Nigeria include: Evidence of membership of PMG-MAN, Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Nigerian Association of Industrial Pharmacists, APIN, NIROPHARM; Certificate of registration of the pharmaceutical premises undertaking drug registration; Annual licence of the Superintendent Pharmacist of the premises; Power of attorney of the manufacturer to importer (citing and copied); Certificate of analysis of the product; Dossier of product; Duly completed registration form; Receipt of payment of registration form; Samples of drug product for vetting; Certificate of manufacture and Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (COPP) (WHO format).We have, however, decided to adopt a more reconciliatory approach by reaching out to our colleagues in the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) as professionals to sort out these differences and ensure we all collaborate on so many issues that should unite the two professional associations.Don't you think that these myriads of problems are likely to impact negatively on the practice'Of course it impacts negatively. The PCN in the current dispensation has not come up with any impactful resolution since this unlawful team came on board in 2009 because it is the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria's representatives who drive the PCN. That is actually the main reason the forces that manipulated the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria list did what they did, to enable them have a field day.
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