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By Doris Obinna
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has called on the Federal Government to declare pharmaceutical insecurity a national security threat, warning that drug diversion, illicit trafficking and counterfeit medicines are fuelling insecurity and undermining public health.
The society also urged the government to establish a Federal Drug Management Agency backed by law, insisting that the proposed Medipool drug procurement scheme must operate within a public sector framework.
The President of the PSN, Ayuba Tanko, made the call at the opening ceremony of the society’s 99th Annual National Conference, tagged PSN-IJELE 2026, at the International Convention Centre, Awka, Anambra State.
Tanko said the government must retain control of the pharmaceutical supply chain, particularly the procurement, storage, distribution and dispensing of medicines, to protect the country against drug diversion, counterfeiting and the financing of organised crime.
He said the Federal Government’s approval of Medipool as a National Group Purchasing Organisation in May 2025 had generated controversy over its legality and implications for public health and national security.
The PSN president acknowledged that pooled purchasing could reduce medicine costs, prevent stock-outs and improve transparency, but warned against handing over the entire drug supply chain of public health facilities to a private company.
He said the society’s objection was not to group purchasing itself but to the structure and legality of the proposed arrangement.
Tanko argued that the government must retain direct control of medicines because of their public health and security implications, particularly the risks associated with controlled and psychoactive drugs.
He said the involvement of a private company in the drug-utilisation chain could weaken collaboration between the government and regulatory agencies, including the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
He cited the NDLEA’s identification of controlled drug abuse, particularly tramadol and pentazocine, as a driver of banditry, terrorism and violent extremism.
Tanko also expressed concern over counterfeit medicines, saying NAFDAC destroyed fake and substandard products worth about N1.5 trillion between June 2025 and June 2026 and secured 64 convictions.
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He called for the replacement of open drug markets with licensed, coordinated wholesale centres under strict government supervision.
The PSN president also recommended integrating community pharmacists into the national security architecture to help identify and report suspicious drug activities.
He urged the government to fast-track the Drug Revolving Fund and Drug Management Agency Bill, which he said passed its first reading in the House of Representatives in 2025.
The proposed law, he said, should protect the revolving fund from diversion, establish pricing rules, ensure competitive procurement and provide for private-sector partnerships.
Tanko said Medipool’s role should be limited to functions such as price negotiation or framework supply, selected competitively and on a non-exclusive basis.
He also called for a presidential committee on the pharmaceutical sector, to be led by a registered pharmacist and comprising representatives of relevant regulatory agencies and the PSN.
On workers’ welfare, Tanko commended the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and the Joint Health Sector Unions for their engagements with the Federal Government on the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS).
He said the October 22 and 27 negotiations secured commitments to pay 19 months’ arrears of allowances to health workers in three tranches within three months, beginning December 2026.
He added that the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had promised to complete an updated cost implication for the CONHESS adjustment within three weeks, enabling the Presidential Committee on Salaries to consider implementation.
Tanko urged the labour unions to ensure that the adjustment was concluded with the necessary circular and salary tables before the end of 2026.
