ACPN Advocate Sanctions Over Alleged Illegal Drug Distribution in Public Hospitals

Esther Oluku

The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has called on the Federal Government to investigate and sanction pharmaceutical companies and pharmacists allegedly involved in illegal drug distribution activities within Federal Health Institutions across the country.

Raising the alarm over what it described as “widespread unlawful pharmaceutical practices,” the National Chairman of ACPN, Pharm. Ezeh Ambrose Igwekamma, accused some companies and their superintendent pharmacists of operating illegally within public hospitals, often with the tacit approval of hospital management and regulatory authorities.

He described the situation as “a travesty of justice,” lamenting that institutions mandated to enforce pharmaceutical laws are now complicit in their violation. Ezeh also faulted the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) for allegedly turning a blind eye while unregistered private operators conduct drug distribution activities in federal hospitals under various Public–Private Partnership (PPP) schemes.

He criticised earlier ministry-led experiments such as the Medipool model, describing them as “unlawful ventures” that have weakened Nigeria’s public drug distribution framework.

According to him, the existing statutory framework for drug management in public hospitals remains rooted in Decree 43 of 1989 (now Cap 252 LFN 2004), which established the Essential Drug List and the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF).

Ezeh also accused Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Medical Directors (MDs) of mismanaging DRF resources, resulting in recurrent drug shortages in federal hospitals. He cited the DRF model at the National Orthopaedic Hospital (NOH), Igbobi, as an example of success, noting that under pharmacists’ leadership, the department built a ₦200 million pharmacy complex in 2014 without mismanaging the fund.

“No other health professional group or institution has matched such a landmark achievement,” he said, regretting that despite ACPN’s repeated warnings between 2020 and 2022, the FMoH failed to intervene as irregularities began eroding the model’s success.

The association further declared that PPP pharmacy operations in several FHIs—including UCH Ibadan, UDUTH Sokoto, AKTH Kano, National Hospital Abuja, NAUTH Nnewi, JUTH Jos, and various Federal Medical Centres—were illegal, citing multiple breaches of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) Act 2022.

The violations include, section 22(1): Only registered and inspected pharmacies may store, sell or dispense medicines; section 27(5): Private pharmacies are prohibited from operating within public health facilities; section 29: Every pharmacy must be under the direct control of a superintendent pharmacist; and section 54: Operating an unregistered pharmacy constitutes a criminal offence.

He urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to, through the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, address this situation, warning that “government-induced chaos” in drug distribution is causing avoidable harm to the health sector.

“We must restore sanity, legality and professionalism in drug distribution within the public sector,” the ACPN Chairman insisted. “The health of the Nigerian people depends on it.”