The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PCN

  • Senator submits bill for abolition of State of Origin

    Senator submits bill for abolition of State of Origin

    The Chairman Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Senator Dino Melaye Friday disclosed that he has submitted a bill for the abolition of State of Origin.

    Melaye said this in Abuja at the unveiling of the 18th anniversary logo of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, (PCN).

    He said that Nigerians should be united in everything instead of victimizing one another.

    The lawmaker disclosed that the Peace Corps of Nigeria, (PCN) has performed to the admiration of the National Assembly hence the need to support the organization.

    He said the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki has assured him that the third reading of the PCN bill in the Senate will be slated soonest.

    His words: “I have submitted a bill for the abolition of State of Origin. We are one united indivisible people in this country we do not need state of origin. My bill will be that instead of state of origin we should have state of residence. Where ever you reside is your state. For example Emaka can become governor of Kano State, Oluwole can decide to become the governor of Borno State and Abudul Malik can want to become the governor of Edo State. That is the Nigeria of our dream and that is for the youth to actualize.

    “The PCN has demonstrated service in your labour for Nigeria in the last 18 years. I acknowledge that you are a very responsible organization and you have done well. I want to encourage you to press on and you will continue to enjoy the support of Nigerians like myself. And I the Senate President send his support and encouragement.

    “He has assured me that the third reading of the bill in the Senate will be slated soonest and I want to assure you that it has been passed in the House of Representatives and I will personally supervise the concurrent in the Senate.  I appreciate the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the supervisory roll and encouragement.

    “I charge the Nigerian youths to shun violence; they are yet to discover their strength. This country is yours. Youth need attitudinal change.”

    The Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung said government will continue to support the PCN and urged the organization to keep up the good work.

    Dalung who was represented by the Permanent Secretary advised PCN to continue to respect constituted authority with the view to enhance peace in the country.

    The National Commandant of PCN, Amb. Dickson Akoh said despite being subjected to series of institutional and fundamental challenges PCN has so far triumph adding that its achievements over the years is the most recent passage of a Bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Peace Corps by the House of Representatives on June 9, 2016.

    Akoh said it is the hope of all that the Bill will scale through third reading at the Senate.

     

     

  • PCN inducts 36 UNIMAID graduates

    The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has inducted 36 Pharmacy graduates of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID).

    Its Registrar Mr Elijah N. A. Mohammed said he had earlier carried out an assessment of the facilities of the faculty with the PCN Accreditation Team.

    Mohammed said: “The Accreditation Team had been in the university for four days, assessing facilities and human resources of the faculty towards the re-accreditation of the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme.

    “These 36 Pharmacy graduates have scaled through. This induction and oath-taking ceremony are professional requirenments. And every Pharmacy graduate must be inducted before venturing into the practice of Pharmacy.”

    He thanked the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibrahim Abubakar Njodi for his support to the Faculty.

    He advised the graduands that Pharmacy is a life-long  profession and that graduating with a Bachelor of Pharmacy is the completion of the first phase of learning.

    He admonished the graduands to imbibe the code of ethics of the profession, warning them to avoid  any misconduct as it would earn them sanctions.

    The Registrar urged the parents to continue to maintain oversight functions over their wards and to desist from putting financial pressure on them. The ceremony ended with the graduands taking the Pharmacists Oath.

    Njodi, who chaired the event, expressed his appreciation to the Registrar, PCN, for braving the odds and security challenges to visit the university to induct the fresh graduates.

    He said the Faculty of Pharmacy, being the only accredited one in the Northeast Zone, has played a leading role in producing the pharmaceutical manpower in the zone.

    He added that the faculty has graduated over 300 pharmacists since inception in 2002.

    Njodi said the university had continued to maintain an uninterrupted academic programme amid the difficult environment.This is as a result of the good rapport and synergy between the university and the security agencies.

    He attributed the induction to the belief of the PCN that peace has returned to Maiduguri and the manifestation of the efforts of both the staff and students of the faculty.

    He said the Faculty runs a Postgraduate programme in two departments namely, Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He attributed the success  at the Faculty to the efforts of the staff of the Faculty. He pleaded with the Federal Government and its drug regulatory agencies to tackle the menace of drug abuse, fake drug and quackery in our society.

    He urged the graduands to venture into the society as good ambassadors of the University stressing that they are expected to be honest, trustworthy and dedicated in all their undertakings.

  • Pharmacists okay national drug guidelines

    Pharmacists okay national drug guidelines

    THE Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has allayed the fear of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group of the Manufacturer Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) on the new national drug distribution guidelines agreed on by pharmaceutical experts and approved by the Federal Government.

    Its National Secretary, Adeoye Afuye, said yesterday that the greatest fear of any human globally “is the fear of change” and asserted that the guidelines would bring sanity to the nation’s “chaotic drug distribution channels”.

    He noted that the ACPN, as an important stakeholder in the pharmaceutical health care delivery system”, deemed it fit to educate the public and other critical members of the pharmaceutical professions on the issue.

    The guidelines, he explained, were formulated by the Federal Government through a committee comprising all stakeholders in the pharmaceutical section with PMG-MAN inclusive.

    Afuye added that members of the committee included experts from the Federal Ministry of Health, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), World Health Organisation (WHO), National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), and Pharmacist Council of Nigeria (PCN).

    Others were National agency for food, Drug, Administration and control (NAFDAC), ACPN and PMG-MAN.

    He said after thorough deliberation, the guideline was produced and the implementation date was fixed for July 2014 and was later shifted to July 1, 2015.

    Afuye noted that it was agreed that the guidelines be implemented by the Federal Government as contained in the policy document and that any short-comings or challenges would be addressed as it occurs.

    “It was a big surprise to hear from one of the originator of the document after two years of suspended implementation that the document, if implemented, would hand over the pharmaceutical industry to cartels and syndicates,” ACPN official said.

  • Pharmacists cautioned on PPP

    The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has condemned some hospitals which have reduced pharmacy to a purely commercial venture of buying and selling, under the public-private partnership (PPP) in some  governments facilities.

    Its president, Olumide Akintayo, said there were patients who visit public hospitals because they believe their drugs would be genuines given the fake drug syndrome ravaging the health sector.

    “But it has come to the notice of the society that some public-private partnership (PPP) in some of the health facilities are buying and selling drugs with absolutely no standards.”

    He said: “Some of the federal health institutions which experimented with privatisation in pharmacy facilities are still in a huge mess, even after such contracts have been terminated, because the profiteers, who utilised the goodwill of the institutions to source drugs from the pharmaceutical industry, simply sold the drugs and pocketed the accruing revenue.

    “Many of the pharmaceutical companies refuse to do business with public health facilities up till now with serious consequences for consumers of health in such institutions.

    “That is why the PSN continues to caution on the consequences of diverting a guaranteed public sector market in pharmacy facilities to private profiteers. Some of the fundamental fall-outs that will always suffice remains who takes responsibility when anything goes wrong with respect to drugs dispensed in such facilities concessioned to profiteers. The profiteer or the government,” he asked.

    It is on record that Lagos State government that blazed the trail has been able to adapt its privitisation model of drugs dispensing under the PPP to the PPP guidelines prescribed by the PCN.

    Akintayo said: “This is why PSN continues to caution on the consequences of diverting a guaranteed public sector market in pharmacy facilities to private profiteers. We at the PSN believe very much in the spirits of a private sector driven economy and logically support the concept of legitimate models of a PPP. Pharmacy practice is a regulated one with a myriad of regulatory agencies having substantial latitudes of influence. These agencies include PCN, NAFDAC, NDLEA, Federal and State taskforce as well as other regulatory agencies of government. “

    Akintayo who spoke at activities announcing the society’s 87th annual national conference, with the theme: ‘Transforming pharmacy practice for better outcomes’, to be held at Akwa Ibom, in the first week of next month, said: “PSN therefore is making a clarion call on pharmacists, pharmaceutical companies and stakeholders to familiarises themselves with the tenets of the PPP guidelines of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) before entering into contracts with public pharmacy practise facilities, to reduce  the obnoxious practice of buying and selling of drugs with no standards in the guise of a PPP.”