The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has urged President‑elect Bola Tinubu to explore the vast potential of the pharmaceutical sector and its significant contribution to the nation’s economy. In a statement released on Saturday, Gbolagade Iyiola, chairman of the Lagos State branch, emphasized that such focus would markedly boost the real sector and national GDP, particularly through the development of a petrochemical industry that could spark an industrial revolution and reposition Nigeria as a hub for new pharmaceutical investments.
Iyiola praised Tinubu for his past interventions in pharmacy affairs during his tenure as Lagos governor. He recalled that, in 2002, the Lagos State Ministry of Health introduced a policy to privatise public‑sector pharmacies in all state hospitals, effectively threatening the role of pharmacy practice in the public service. Pharmacy opinion leaders appealed to Governor Tinubu, leading to a truce between the Lagos State Government, PSN and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN). Iyiola noted that pharmacists in Lagos still remember his decisive actions from his first governorship (1999‑2003).
The PSN Lagos State branch positioned itself as a fulcrum for development, aiming to make Lagos a centre of excellence and the preferred destination for pharmaceuticals in Africa within the next few years—provided the president‑elect accepts this modest challenge. The society also called on Tinubu to critically appraise the “Charter of Demands” submitted in November 2022. Among the demands are reforms in the appointment processes for the Federal Ministry of Health ministers and the chief executive officers of health‑sector MDAs, improvements in the welfare of public‑sector pharmacists and health workers to curb brain drain, the establishment of a “Bank of Health,” and the achievement of universal health coverage through proper implementation of the National Health Insurance Authority Act 2022.
Additional requests include enabling local manufacturing of drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients, securing better funding for healthcare, and addressing issues that constrain the natural development of pharmacy in Nigeria.
Comments are closed for this story.