Dealers blame fake drugs on incensing authorities
By Sunday Odita
REFUSAL of regulatory authorities to renew and licence deserving patent medicine dealers is responsible for the rise in incidence of fake and adulterated pharmaceutical products.
This was disclosed by President of Lagos State Medicine Dealers' Association, Mr. Boniface Okolie, when the state House of Assembly Committee on Health visited the business environment of the medicine dealers for inspection.
According to Okolie, "the court gave orders that our licences be renewed, to which the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) refused and appealed against the judgment on no reasonable ground".
Okolie recalled that the friction between them and PCN began since the late 80s.
According to him, the government and the PCN gave due recognition to members of the association and granted practising licences to deserving members of our association. But "when the nation was hit by unprecedented unemployment, this phenomenon, along with visible success of our members in the trade, triggered off friction between our members and PCN".
Okolie alleged: "This friction was born out of sheer jealousy on the part of the PCN as they claimed initially that we were selling our products at give-away prices and demanded that we sell with 33-and-a-quarter per cent profit margin".
Okolie expressed his confidence in the committee to intervene in the matter as he said: "Today, we are sure that after this visit, you and members of the your committee will be on the side of truth".
He lamented that the refusal of the regulatory authorities to renew and license deserving members of the medicine dealers' association has made the trade an all-comers' affair.
While saying that the panel was out to campaign against sub-standard products, Chairman of Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Health, Dr. Bayo Adejare, urged the medicine dealers' association to join in the campaign.
Adejare added: "We are also here to see how the problems medicine dealers are facing could be resolved and we are determined to sustain good healthcare delivery system".
He promised them that his committee would look into the feud between them and the PCN.
