The regulatory body, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria said on Friday it sealed off a total of 62 pharmacies and 371 patent and proprietary medicine vendors outlets in Rivers State.
The body said the outlets were sealed for contravening stipulated standards.
The sealing of the outlets followed a recent inspection conducted in the state to ensure that quality, safety and efficacy of medicines were maintained from the producer down to the end user, the registrar of the council, Nurudeen Mohammed said.
According to the the Director of Inspection and Monitoring, Anthonia Aruya, who represented the registrar, he noted that some outlets were given compliance directives for various offences.
He maintained that some of the sealed outlets in different parts of the state were operated by quacks, adding that others that were sealed off operated beyond their scope.
According to him: “Observations from the field in Rivers State revealed that many people go into the sale of medicines without following due process; others do not have the requisite knowledge or skills to handle medicines on their premises or are operating beyond their approved scope.
“The implications of these can best be imagined, exposing the general public to great danger.
“Various parts of the state were visited during this period. At the end of the exercise, a total of 554 premises comprising 148 pharmacies and 406 patent and proprietary medicine outlets were visited; 433 premises were sealed, comprising 62 pharmacies and 371 PPMV outlets, while 13 premises comprising seven pharmacies and six PPMV shops were given compliance directives.”
