Nkiru Odinkemelu

The Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAP) has called for the retention of medicines on the Exclusive list, saying this would avert the worsening of Nigeria’s drug distribution.

The academy advised that it would be counter-productive and exceedingly damaging to Nigeria if medicines are moved to the Concurrent List as being advocated by some.

This call was made at a special reception in honour of two distinguished fellows of the Academy, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Prof. Chinedum Peace Babalola, Vice Chancellor, Chrisland University for their outstanding achievements in the public service.

President, Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, noted “medicines are currently on the Exclusive List (item 21 of part 1 of the second schedule of the 1999 constitution) and though there appears to be an ill-advised move to remove it from this list to the Concurrent List, the Academy wishes to strongly advise that the health needs of Nigerians are best served by retaining medicines on the Exclusive list. This is particularly critical, if we are to avert a worsening of the chaos of drug distribution across Nigeria and the nightmare this poses for regulatory control.”

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Adelusi-Adeluyi also bemoaned the current situation of drug misuse and abuse in the country and warned that Nigeria should not transit from being a mere transit point to one in which young people actively abuse drugs and hard substances.

Congratulating the NAFDAC DG on her appointment, Adelusi-Adeluyi called on the government at different levels to help provide support, especially with regard to legislation as well as enforcement, to enable NAFDAC deliver on its mandate.

“Research and academic excellence are also the major pillars of this Academy and we are elated by the recent appointment of yet another fellow of the Academy to the position of VC of Chrisland University,”  he said as he also congratulated Prof. Chinedum Babalola.

Speaking with reporters, Director-General of NAFDAC expressed confidence that the regulator would not let the Academy and the country down, while noting that NADFAC’s mandate was to safeguard the health of the country by ensuring that wholesome food, drugs and water available to consumers are of quality standard as well as preventing fake and substandard medical products from entering into the country.

On the menace of drug abuse, she stressed: “Curtailing drug abuse is everyone’s responsibility. However, one essential measure in preventing abuse is making sure that access is cut off at the points of entry, which is what we have been striving to do in spite of all the barriers. We have intercepted many containers of illegal substances as I speak. There must also be a communal approach to tackling the issue by propagating the right message that illicit drugs can damage the brain and ruin lives. Community and religious leaders must drive and champion this cause of fighting substance abuse.”