The chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on elimination of drug abuse, Brig. Gen Buba Marwa, the governor of Kano state, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, and other personalities are expected to tackle drug abuse at the 38th edition of the scientific conference of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) holding in Kano from Sunday, June 30 to Saturday, July 6.
The conference, themed: “Tackling the menace of drug abuse, a disruptive innovation approach,” will be focusing on strategies to adopt in tackling the menace of drug abuse in Nigeria.
During the conference, community pharmacists will be collaborating with various regulatory agencies and other critical stakeholders to create more awareness on the dangers of drug abuse.
In a chat with newsmen at ACPN secretariat in Lagos, the National Chairman of ACPN, Pharm. Samuel Adekola, revealed that the one-week event will include a walk by pharmacists to certain places in Kano to further enlighten the populace on drug abuse.
The walk, he said, will be led by the wife of the Kano state governor, Dr Hafsat Ganduje and the state commandant of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The National Chairman said the conference will be an avenue for urging the federal government to sign the pharmacy council bill into law as there is currently no legal basis to fight drug abuse in the country.
Other activities, according to Adekola, involve an award ceremony for certain personalities including the first executive governor of Ondo, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Aminu Dantata, Justice Oguntade, among others.
The community pharmacists said the conference, which will be attended by over 1,000 pharmacists from across the country, will also feature a roundtable discussion with International partners, official unveiling of the trans-generational community pharmacy agenda, interactive session with regulatory bodies, among others.