Drug traders in Sabongari market and other clustered plazas in Kano metropolis have been given two weeks to relocate to the newly commissioned Coordinated Wholesale Centre for pharmaceutical products in the state.
The Registrar of Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, who gave this directive at the weekend in Kano, said the enforcement department of the council will after expiration of the ultimatum shut down any medicine shops operating in open drug markets.
At the commissioning of the CWC, which is the first to be completed in the country, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, recalled how Sabon Gari drug market and other cluster drug plazas within Kano metropolis had contributed to the distribution of fake and illicit drugs, stressing, however that, the commissioned CWC otherwise known as Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje Pharmaceutical Complex, under the Kanawa Pharmaceuticals and Partners (KPP), will go a long way towards solving the nagging problems of drug abuse and sale of fake drugs in Kano State.
In her address, the Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Christiana Mojisola Adeyeye described the project as a facility built upon the pillars of protecting the health of Nigerians.
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“NAFDAC, through this facility will inspect the drugs that people buy. Today, Kano has become a model that other states should follow,” she said.
The Emir of Kano, His Highness, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, expressed happiness that with the facility, drug abuse and sale of illicit drugs in Kano will become a thing of the past.
On his part, the state governor, Abdulahi Umar Ganduje said “In the market, we have offices for all the regulatory agencies. This market is the only legal place where you can sell wholesale drugs in Kano State. All other locations will be closed down. If you are found wanting, you will face the wrath of the law.”