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By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has called on the Federal Government to impose immediate sanctions on companies and pharmacists involved in alleged widespread illegal drug distribution practices across federal health institutions (FHIs). The association warns that these unlawful activities threaten the integrity of Nigeria’s healthcare system and jeopardize public health.
Speaking on behalf of the ACPN, National Chairman Pharm. Ezeh Ambrose Igwekamma condemned what he described as a “persistent culture of disregard for the law” by certain pharmaceutical companies and their superintendent pharmacists. These actors, he claimed, are operating illegally within public hospitals—sometimes with tacit approval from hospital management and regulatory authorities—undermining established drug management protocols.
“It is a travesty of justice that institutions meant to uphold the law are now enabling infractions,” Igwekamma stated. He accused the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) of turning a blind eye as private pharmacy operators, unregistered and operating outside legal frameworks, take over drug distribution under various Public–Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements.
The ACPN chairman criticized the ministry’s earlier experiments with models such as Medipool, describing them as unlawful ventures that have created dangerous loopholes in the public drug supply chain. He reaffirmed that Nigeria’s statutory framework for drug management in public hospitals remains rooted in Decree 43 of 1989 (now Cap 252 LFN 2004), which established the Essential Drug List and the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF).
He emphasized that for the DRF to function effectively, pharmacists must be fully in control of procurement, distribution, and management, as stipulated in the DRF manuals. However, he lamented that mismanagement by hospital Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Medical Directors (MDs) has led to recurrent drug stock-outs and unstable supplies nationwide.
Highlighting a rare beacon of success, Igwekamma pointed to the National Orthopaedic Hospital (NOH) Igbobi’s DRF project. Under the leadership of pharmacists, the hospital built a N200 million pharmacy complex in 2014 without compromising the DRF account—an achievement unmatched in Nigeria’s healthcare history, he asserted. Yet, despite repeated warnings from the ACPN between 2020 and 2022, the FMoH failed to intervene as irregularities began to undermine this model’s integrity.
The association condemned the legality of current PPP pharmacy models operating in institutions like UCH Ibadan, UDUTH Sokoto, AKTH Kano, and others, citing multiple breaches of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) Act 2022. These violations include operating pharmacies without registration, operating within public facilities unlawfully, and employing unregistered pharmacies to dispense medicines.
Furthermore, the ACPN highlighted violations of the Public Procurement Act 2007, noting that over 20 pharmacy premises engaged in these PPP arrangements are not registered for such operations. The association singled out a particularly aggressive company in Lagos, alleged to have taken over a prominent teaching hospital’s pharmacy while leveraging senior government officials’ names to legitimize its activities.
The ACPN issued a stern warning to superintendent pharmacists whose licenses are allegedly being exploited to cover these violations. They have until the end of 2025 to regularize their status or face disciplinary action in 2026. The association also plans to seek wider sanctions from regulatory authorities under the Consumer Protection and Trade Malpractices Act.
Igwekamma reaffirmed the association’s stance that addressing drug shortages, ensuring drug security, and strengthening Nigeria’s pharmaceutical supply chain require supporting local drug manufacturing through credit guarantees and transparent procurement processes. He called for the protection of DRF accounts as legitimate working capital and the strict enforcement of Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) principles across all 73 FHIs.
The ACPN concluded by urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare to order. They warned that the “government-induced chaos” in drug distribution is causing unnecessary harm to Nigeria’s health sector.
“We must restore sanity, legality and professionalism in drug distribution in the public sector,” Igwekamma asserted. “The health of the Nigerian people depends on it.”
