FG to end drug hawking August 1

The Registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, Mr. Elijah Mohammed, has restated the Federal Government's commitment to ending open drug hawking by August 1, 2017.

Mohammed, who gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja, described this as part of efforts to regulate drug distribution system in the country.

He said the move would assist in curtailing the menace of open drug sale.

Mohammed attributed major challenges in the health system to open drug hawking.

He added that a lot of the hawkers sold fake and adulterated drugs.

The registrar stated that coordinated wholesale centres were currently being built in four states of the federation where open sale of drugs was predominant.

He said the drug dealers would be relocated to the centres to enable them to carry out their activities in a coordinated manner.

According to him, the centres will go a long way in curtailing drug hawking, among others, as there will be strict regulation of drug distribution and sales at the centres.

He said the centres would be located in Kano, Lagos, Onitsha and Aba. Mohammed, however, said construction of those facilities were currently ongoing.

The registrar warned that anyone caught operating outside those centres after the specified date would be arrested and prosecuted by security agencies.

'The issue of open drug market will come to an end by August 1 next year and we are working toward that and have put in place necessary measures to take care of that, which are the coordinated wholesale centres.

'The coordinated wholesale centre in Onitsha, which is situated in Oba, will take care of the Onitsha overhead bridge. And we have inspected the location and has been granted approval and development has started.