By Kasim Adeyemi
SIR: The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has recently involved itself in a needless controversy over the disagreement between Alta Semper Capital, a renowned U.K. investment firm and Mrs. Bukky George, the founder and erstwhile Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of pharmaceutical retailer HealthPlus Limited.
It all started in 2017 when Alta Semper began talks with HealthPlus to give a lifeline to the business to help grow it. At the time Mrs. George approached the PCN to secure a letter of “no objection” to the investment. Although such a letter was neither a pre-requisite for foreign investment in a pharmaceutical company in Nigeria, nor has the PCN ever issued it before, the regulatory body honoured the request in a bid to support Mrs. George and save HealthPlus from a potential collapse due to paucity of funds.
The letter was issued by PCN in October 2017 and by March 2018; Alta Semper invested an initial sum of $10 million. The investors had a window to inject another $8million subject to certain conditions.
Aside from selling the majority of her shares to Alta Semper, George had entered into a Management Agreement with HealthPlus. The agreement details the terms of her employment and grounds for termination. It was on this basis that the Board terminated her employment in September 2020 due to serious breaches to corporate governance.
On March 2, news filtered into the public domain that the PCN had withdrawn the “no objection” letter issued to HealthPlus subsequent to which George issued a statement to stakeholders saying that Alta Semper and their agents are no longer authorized by law to own or manage a retail pharmacy business in Nigeria.
As an investment analyst, I know for sure that a “no objection” letter is not required for any investment in pharmaceutical business in Nigeria. The PCN Act does not provide for this, neither does any regulation issued by PCN or any other authority. It is therefore not within the statutory powers of the PCN to pronounce foreign investment legal or otherwise. The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act and the Poisons and Pharmacy Act 1992 (PPA) permit foreign investors to own all the share capital in retail pharmacy companies.
George’s statement was therefore a clear attempt to spin the news and misrepresent the facts of the matter – and the letter of the law – using PCN’s letter as cover. Coincidentally, HealthPlus has since issued a counter statement to stakeholders stressing that the letter of “no objection” from the PCN was not a pre-requisite for their investment.
Indeed, the PCN itself had noted clearly in its communication withdrawing the “no objection” letter that the document “has no bearing on the corporate structure and the relationships within HealthPlus.”
I believe that the PCN issued the initial letter in good faith. What is however unclear is why it withdrew the letter, even though it acknowledged that the document was inconsequential in determining the legality of the investment. The PCN is charged with the responsibility for regulating and controlling Pharmacy Education, Training and Practice in all aspects and ramifications in Nigeria. It is important for the regulatory body to exercise more caution and avoid unnecessarily reversing itself so as to preserve its hard-earned reputation.
- Kasim Adeyemi, Åagos.
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