Pharmacists in Lagos State said the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria has operated without an inaugurated governing council for about three years since its enabling Act was amended in 2022, and that staff shortages in the state Ministry of Health’s Directorate of Pharmaceutical Services are weakening drug control.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Pharmacy Week organised by the Lagos branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, branch chairman Olaitan Ogunlade said the shortfall was structural. “This is already creating gaps in drug control and weakening compliance structures across the health system,” he said, in remarks reported by Vanguard on Aug. 19.
Pharmacy Council of Nigeria accreditation stalls in Lagos
The branch said the absence of an inaugurated Pharmacy Council of Nigeria governing council is affecting accreditation of pharmacy premises and disciplinary processes against practitioners found wanting.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health Akin Abayomi used the event to argue for tighter control of restricted medicines. “It shouldn’t be easy to access a restricted drug. It should be extremely difficult,” he said.
Abayomi said most residents seek care outside hospitals first. “More than 50%, almost 60%, will go to our PPMVs, our community pharmacies,” he said, referring to patent and proprietary medicine vendors. He added that registration is no guarantee of standards: “You can be a professional, a medical professional, and still practise quackery.”
Vanguard reported that Lagos State plans to recruit pharmacists and is developing a state point-of-care testing policy, while the federal government is expected to inaugurate the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria governing council.
Why it matters: Weak pharmacy regulation raises the risk of substandard and falsified medicines reaching patients through Nigeria’s largest retail health channel.
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