Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State has appealed to the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) to help end the sale of illicit drugs in the state.
He made the call when he received the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the council, Ibrahim Baba Shehu Ahmed at the Government House, Minna.
Bello said drug abuse among youths had reached an alarming rate because drug stores were involved in the sale of the illicit drugs.
“I want to believe that this council is responsible for making sure that the work ethics of all pharmacists are done according to the books. In recent times, we have had a lot of pharmacists around and they engage more in the selling of drugs to our young people,” he said.
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He urged the new Registrar to make Niger State proud and be a worthy ambassador of the state.
In his remarks, the new PCN Registrar and CEO, Pharmacist Ahmed said that he had commenced consultations towards closing down open drug markets in the country and replacing them with a coordinated wholesale centre where the public and certified retailers could have access to regulated drugs.
The registrar added that since he came on board, he had clamped down on over 3000 pharmaceutical outlets for operating beyond their standard procedure.