Pharmacists Raise Concerns Over Staff Depletion in Lagos

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Lagos State branch has raised strong concerns over the depletion of pharmacists in the state’s services, saying it could undermine effective drug regulation and patients’ safety.

Chairman of PSN, Olaitan Ogunlade, during the 2026 Annual Luncheon of the Society in Lagos recently said that the state’s Directorate of Pharmaceutical Services (DPS) has been hit by a severe dearth of Registered Pharmacists to sustain its retinue of statutory responsibilities and exposing the healthcare system to statutory breaches.

According to him, “|the Directorate of Pharmaceutical Services is responsible for the supervision and administration of critical operations such as pharmaceutical inspection, drug quality control, counterfeit medicine enforcement, malaria control programmes, and drug abuse campaigns,” but expressed regret that the extension of the DPS services to other health services units has worsened the situation.

“It is noteworthy that the expansion of the Directorate of Pharmaceutical Services into the Health Service Commission, State Primary Healthcare Board and recently Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has taken a huge toll on the Directorate of Pharmaceutical Services at the Lagos State Ministry of Health where there is only one functional Director in a Directorate that structurally encompasses over ten (10) Units.”

He argued that the disturbing development has resulted in breach in the statutory responsibilities of Pharmacists in the areas of drug regulation and control.

“A vividly obvious breach remains the handling and dispensing of some drug products in some of the health programmes of the Lagos State Ministry of Health contrary to Section 22 of the PCN Act 2022 as amended which provides that in all locations where drugs are stocked in Nigeria, the facility must comply with statues of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) in addition to Superintendent Pharmacists who are in direct and personal control of drugs use and management,’’ he said.

Oguntade appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo‑Olu to urgently approve the recruitment of pharmacists into the State Civil Service. He also proposed a temporary redeployment of senior pharmacy officers to reinforce regulatory operations within the Ministry of Health.

“We respectfully implore His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to approve and direct the immediate employment of more Pharmacists in the Lagos State Civil Service. It would be expedient that the Lagos State Government also compels an urgent redeployment of some senior Pharmacists including those on director cadre to move from the Health Service Commission, Primary Healthcare Board and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) as an interim measure to complement effective professional services which is obviously suffering at the moment at the Lagos State Ministry of Health,’’ he said.

Ogunlade, who commended the government for elevating many of the Pharmacist-Directors to the equivalent of GL. 17, said it has incentivised other state governments in the federation.