Brains and Hammers Limited, a Nigerian residential and commercial property management services company, has partnered with the Kano State Government to develop a coordinated pharmaceutical center.
According to the company, the center helps to put into reality the Federal Government’s quest to put an end to wholesale drugs in unregulated environments around the country.
“Desirous of curbing the incidence of fake, adulterated and counterfeit drugs, the Government in 2003 muted the idea of a Coordinated Warehouse Centre (CWC) for pharmaceuticals to stop the chaotic and dangerous trade in drugs in the open markets at Ariaria in Abia State, Idumota in Lagos State, Onitsha Head Bridge in Anambra State and Sabon Gari in Kano State.
“For years, federal regulatory agencies, particularly the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had engaged perpetrators of this unwholesome trade in a costly battle,” it said.
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It said the journey to the CWC which reached an epoch with the commissioning of the Kanawa Pharmaceutical Coordinated Wholesale Centre also known as Abdullahi Umar Ganduje Pharmaceutical Centre in Kano recently may not be an end in itself but serve as a wake-up call for quick implementation of the project in the remaining states.
“Working under a Private-Public Partnership arrangement between Brains and Hammers Limited and the Kano State Government, the multi-billion-Naira CWC is situated within the larger 117-acre Kano Economic City (KEC), a brainchild of the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje administration has been formally opened to mark completion of Phase one of the KEC.”
Mohammed Chiroma, chairman of KEC said the center, which has a complex of 2100 shops with warehouses, will house businesses of all pharmaceutical products in Kano under the control of regulatory bodies such as the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, Standard Organization of Nigeria and NAFDAC.
Ganduje said illegality in drug distribution will not be tolerated henceforth.”All other areas for wholesale of drugs in the state will be closed down forthwith and those found wanting will be taken for prosecution.”
“The Federal Government has guidelines for the sale of drugs that are healthy and we promised ourselves in 2015 when we came in that we will change the vulnerable situation in the sale of counterfeit, illegal and fake drugs that Kano finds itself.
“With this commissioning today, we have reached a major milestone in the battle to control illegal and fake drugs,” he said.
Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health and Mojisola Adeleye, director general of NAFDAC praised Ganduje for becoming a model for other states.
