‘Nigeria’s rich, powerful fueling illegal drug trading’ – Ayuba

…as 50% of drugs in circulation fake 

Those with wealth and influence are not just tolerating Nigeria’s booming illegal drug trade, they are fueling it, Ibrahim Ayuba, president-elect, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) said on Thursday.

These groups of individuals (unnamed) are fighting to sustain the reign of open drug marketing in the country despite being a primary driver of fake and substandard drug circulation.

Open drug marketing, the sale of drugs in public spaces such as streets or markets, was outlawed 10 years ago under the National Drug Distribution Guidelines.

The concept of coordinated wholesale centres (CWC) was designed to replace it and organise trade in well-regulated hubs that protect the quality of drugs available in circulation.

However, illegal open drug marketing persists in plain sight across Nigeria.

About five million unregistered drug vendors operate across rural and urban communities in Nigeria, according to the PSN.

Ayuba stated that this trend has pushed Nigeria back to an era where over 50 percent of circulating drugs are fake or substandard, contradicting official figures of 13 to 15 percent.

“You still find open drug trade in every market and the government is watching. The police are watching. These people behind the open drug market are very powerful and rich and can reach many places to stop any action taken against them. We pray NAFDAC sustains the onslaught so that sanity will prevail in the drug distribution space,” Ayuba said at a press conference to announce his investiture as the new president and the induction of 145 fellows.

Data from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) indicate that 13 to 15 percent of medicines circulating are fake.

Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC director-general this week confirmed that Nigeria is facing an upsurge of big volumes of expired drugs and substandard falsified medicines especially for children.

She said about 70 percent of drugs used to boost oxytocin levels in women during childbirth are substandard.

The agency in recent weeks has sealed thousands of shops across Abia, Anambra and Lagos with huge consignments of fake drugs confiscated.

Citing a 1998 study that shows that 49.6 percent of fake drugs were traced to open markets and 32.8 percent to patent medicine vendors, Ayuba stated reducing the number of patent medicine dealers in the country is one of the group’s goals.

He explained that patent medicine stores should ideally be located in rural areas where pharmacies are unavailable.

Dealers operating these stores should have at least a secondary school certificate, demonstrating literacy, and should stock only a limited selection of approved medications.

Crucially, they should not be permitted to open and dispense individual doses of any drugs.

Furthermore, there are specific classes of drugs that patent medicine stores should be prohibited from stocking altogether.

However, the reality in Nigeria is that many of these stores stock a wide range of medications, including those they are not licensed to sell, and they frequently dispense drugs directly to patients, which their licenses do not authorise.

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“For the safety of our patients and Nigerians, if you want to buy drugs, go to pharmacies with a registered pharmacist in attendance. That way you will be safe,” Ayuba said.

Call for Action

The president-elect said the federal government must assume greater responsibility by actively driving the full implementation of the National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG), officially commissioned in 2015.

This is the sole path to incentivize legitimate operators within the drug market to relocate to the approved CWCs in Lagos, Anambra, and Abia States, he said.

He also noted that it reflects poorly on the nation that while the Kano State CWC is functional, those in the three states above remain non-operational, with construction virtually at a standstill.

Furthermore, the National Assembly should consider stronger penalties for counterfeit drug dealers, including substantial fines exceeding N20 million, life imprisonment, or even capital punishment.

Enforcing PCN Act

Ayuba emphasises the importance of the newly enacted Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) Act of 2022, calling it a significant advancement for pharmacy practice in Nigeria.

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However, he stressed that the Act’s potential to safeguard public health will only be realised if governments at all levels fully comply with its provisions.

Specifically, he highlighted Section 22, which mandates registration of any location where drugs are handled, and Section 29, which requires a Superintendent Pharmacist for any facility stocking drugs.

Ayuba criticized the government’s frequent non-compliance, citing that less than 25 percent of federal MDAs have registered pharmacies or employed pharmacists despite actively dispensing drugs, thus endangering public health.

“This disregard for the law is spreading, even affecting federal health institutions like the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Benin, which recently advertised for health personnel while neglecting to include pharmacists,” he said.