UPDATE FROM THE REGISTRY – OCTOBER 01, 2020

On behalf of the management and staff of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, I wish all practitioners in the Nigerian Pharmaceutical Industry a happy 60^th Independence anniversary. I pray that the labor of our heroes past, both as a country and as a profession shall never be in vain.

Let me use this opportunity to specifically commend all the past and present leaders of the Pharmacy profession for their efforts over the years, which resulted in the issuance of a circular by The Head of Civil Service of The Federation on the approval of Pharmacists Consultant cadre. In the same vein, we congratulate all Fellows of WAPCP on this recognition. PCN would want to use this opportunity to encourage Pharmacist Consultants to rise to the challenges even more than before.  Furthermore, PCN is developing strategies towards institutionalization and strengthening of specialised services delivery within the healthcare industry and has received inputs from ACPN and NAPA on this.  More inputs in the form of memos are expected from other industry stakeholders to further enrich the process.

Registration for the Foreign Pharmacy Graduates Orientation Programme (FPGOP) 2020 closed on September 19, 2020. The online component of the programme commenced on September 28, 2020, while the tentative date for the onsite programme is October 19. Similarly, the ongoing registration for the October Pre-Registration Examination for Pharmacists (PEP) closes October 14, 2020. Prospective candidates are therefore advised to register using the link www.pcnmcpd.com/pep. The examination holds on Saturday, October 24, 2020 by 8:00am at all designated centres.

In the ongoing effort of the PCN to clampdown the proliferation of illegal medicine shops, which became worse since the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, the National Enforcement Team of the PCN visited Akwa Ibom State in the month of September on enforcement activities. During the exercise, 42 Pharmacies and 397 Patent Medicine Shops were sealed for lack of compliance with PCN regulatory provision in their practice and operation respectively, while 9 compliance directives were issued to others for other minor offences.

Following the reconstitution of the Governing Council of the PCN and the subsequent appointment of the Chairman, Prof. Ahmed Tijjani Mora, mni about 100 days ago, statutory and Ad hoc Committees have swung into action and the council is already getting good results from their activities.

In the month of September, the PCN Investigating Panel sat and conducted investigations on 17 Pharmacists and 11 petitioners over alleged acts of professional misconduct. The Panel was able to resolve some issues, while the unresolved ones would be referred to the PCN’s Disciplinary Tribunal. The Council wishes to reiterate that it does not tolerate misconduct and mischief among its stakeholders. In the same vein, The 14-member Ad hoc Committee on Pharmacy practices and PCN functions deliberated extensively on issues  bothering on evidence-based care, pharmaceutical care, Pharmacist specialists’ services and repositioning Pharmacy training and practice in Nigeria, in line with current realities.

In a bid to curb the illicit use of drugs amongst Nigerian Youths, PCN in collaboration with Hon. (Dr.) Anietie Udo Umoren (MBBS Benin) and Rt. Hon. Joseph Edionwele, JP at Ukana Ikot Ideh in Essen Udim LGA of Akwa Ibom State and Iruekpen in Esan Central West/Igueben Federal Constituency of Edo State respectively hosted two Advocacy Workshops/Seminars on drug abuse in the month of September 28 – 30, 2020.

PCN in collaboration with the Society for Family Health and Integrate-E Project sponsored management and principal staff of PCN to the Lagos Business School for training on Quality Service Delivery Acculturation and Executive Strategy programme. This is in line with the PCN’s mission statement of using the instrumentality of capacity building to raise the bar of service delivery in the Council.

On a final note, the Registry expresses its sincere condolence to the Chairman of the Council (who is a member of the Zazzau Emirate Council as the Wakilin Maganin Zazzau) over the death of the Late 18^th Emir of Zazzau, His Royal Highness, Alhaji (Dr.) Shehu Idris in the month of September. We recall with nostalgia the fatherly welcome the late Emir gave all Nigerian Pharmacists when Kaduna state hosted the PSN National conference in 2019.

As we all celebrate the 60^th independence of our great nation, I urge all Pharmacists not to drop their guards even as the reported numbers of COVID 19 cases continue to decline. We play a pivotal role in ensuring the complete elimination of this deadly virus from our dear country

We shall all work together to ensure a complete eradication of the COVID virus and other looming diseases in our country, Nigeria.

Happy Independence Day Celebration.

Pharm Elijah Mohammed, PhD, FPSN, FNIM, FPCPharm, FNAPharm