He advised members of the public to always purchase their medicines from licensed pharmacies and simple household remedies from licenced patent medicine shops pointing out that uncontrolled access to substances of abuse has contributed in no small way to the security challenges across the country.
“Our observation from the field indicates that many wholesale pharmacies and patent medicines shops are not licensed by PCN and have been operating illegally. The pharmacies under this category of premises do not have pharmacists to supervise pharmaceutical operations and many of them have a large stock of ethical products including substances of abuse.
“Similarly, a large number of patent medicine vendors are not registered by PCN and operate in breach of our regulations as it affects the storage of medicine and scope of operations. “The primary goal of these illegal premises is profit without regard for the safety of the public who patronize them. They have also become channels for the illegal distribution and sale of substances of abuse to members of the public including those with criminal intentions. Therefore, we will continue to step up the enforcement in line with the regulations for the safety of all Nigerians” The PCN official added.All rights reserved.