The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 443 pharmaceutical premises in Taraba State for various breaches of regulatory standards.
Mr Sulaiman Chiroma, Head of Enforcement at the council, made this known during a press briefing on Friday in Jalingo.
He revealed that 43 of the sealed premises were pharmacies, while the remaining 395 were patent medicine shops. The enforcement exercise covered 656 premises across 11 local government areas in the state.
Chiroma outlined the offences as including operating without valid registration, failure to renew premises licences, conducting clinical practices without proper authorisation, and unauthorised access to controlled medicines.
Other violations included exceeding the scope of the approved patent medicine list, employing inadequately trained apprentices, and retailing drugs from premises licensed only for wholesale.
He cautioned residents to be vigilant in choosing where they purchase medications, emphasising the dangers of patronising unqualified or unauthorised vendors.
“We urge the public to report suspected quack operators to the PCN office in Jalingo,” he said.
Chiroma also advised that legitimate pharmacies could be recognised by the display of a valid licence within their premises, adding that the PCN remained committed to enforcing standards that protect public health.
In his remarks, Mr Aodoaseer Gwar of the PCN Northeast Zonal Office in Bauchi reiterated that licensed pharmacies are held to ethical and professional standards and would not engage in malpractice.
He stressed that the council’s enforcement drive would continue, leaving no room for unqualified practitioners or violations of the pharmacist’s code of ethics.
(NAN)