Three Pharmacists have been brought before a panel set up by the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, PCN, for an alleged drug distribution scam.
The trio was accused of falling short of the conduct and ethics of the Pharmacy profession.
In this latest health news in Nigeria, gathered from Vanguard, the Pharmacist failed to release funds realized from the sale of drugs.
The disciplinary panel was set up in the FCT on Friday.
The Chairman Governing Council of Pharmacist Council of Nigeria, Prof Ahmed Mora, cautioned against unethical practices. He said that an offender would face the wrath of the law.
Mora further explained that the tribunal will regulate pharmaceutical practices in Nigeria.
He said, “A tribunal has been inaugurated and has started hearing. I assure you that before the end of the year, we are going to sit again to make a pronouncement on the sentence on one case and continue with the trial of others.
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“We do not expect pharmacists to fall short of the code of conduct and ethics of the profession.”
Mora explained that the cases handled by the tribunal are: i. those of fraud of some pharmacists not remitting amounts of drugs given to them to sell. ii To market in large amounts after periodic requests by those who own those premises (pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesalers).
His words, “These premises have what we call pharmaceutical representatives or medical representatives. Usually, they are given large consignment of pharmaceutical products to market.”
“So, in all these cases, it appeared that these drugs have been sold. But, they have not remitted the money to the manufacturers or the wholesalers, prompting petitions to PCN.’’
Mora revealed why the tribunal was unable to sit for six years, He said that there was no governing council in place.
He warned: “The inability of the tribunal to sit for six years was not deliberate, it was because there was no governing council in place.
“Now with the governing council in place, we now have the disciplinary committee of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria and there is no limitations on the number of times that it sits.
“It depends on the cases referred to it from the investigative panel.”