Coming on the heel of last week’s closure of 19 shops for similar offences, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said the affected shops, include the Patent Medicine Stores located at Numbers 33, 56, 62, TQ 07, 75 and 78 Along Aiyetoro Road, Epe; the pharmacies are those located at No 4, Lagos Road, Epe and No 51, Hospital Road, Epe; while those arrested include Messrs Hakeem Dairo and Olatunji Dairo of both No 81, Aiyetoro Road, Epe and the other duo of Messrs Ebuka and his brother of No 4, Hospital Road, Epe.
Idris reiterated government’s avowed commitment to streamlining the drug distribution system in the state in order to ensure the safety of the citizenry hence, he noted that government had mandated the task force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods to comb all the nooks and crannies of the state for illegal operators.
The commissioner noted that the shops were sealed off for offences ranging from the sale of drugs without license from the regulatory authorities to failure or refusal to relocate from a market area and adherence to the mandated distance between a patent medicine shop and market place, as stipulated by the law, and the sale of counterfeit and fake drugs, amongst others.
He urged the people to always purchase their drugs from duly registered pharmacy or patent medicine shops recognisable by a signboard indicating that such a Pharmacy or Patent medicine shop is duly registered and licensed.
The commissioner, therefore, advised operators of pharmaceutical shops and patent medicine stores to ensure that their activities are within the ambit of the law regulating their operations, adding that the state government would not take it lightly with any operator of pharmaceutical products who disregarded the laws of the state.