Date: 2016-09-09

Nigeria Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED), has advised the federal government to establish a separate board for the association so as to free them from the 'bondage' of the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PSN).

This, the association said would also assist them to complement the efforts of the government at bringing more healthcare delivery to the doorsteps of the rural populace.

The Kwara State President of the association, Alhaji Wahab Ajibola, made the appeal in Ilorin recently at a press conference to mark the 54th anniversary of the association.

?According to him, "the association is a constituted profession based on the amendment of the Poison and Pharmacy Acts CAP 152 of 1958 which was finally amended as LFM 535 of 1990 under the exclusive list of Pharmacy Law.

"Our practice is? legal and being controlled and that makes it that anyone that indulges in patent medicine services must obtain license and must have a location."

Ajibola added that, "Patent medicine business is not only in Nigeria, it is in United States of America with different names and so it is a well known association all over the world.

"So, what the association wants now is to appeal to the federal government to create a separate board for the association so as allow the association to be out of the control of the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria.

"Because the whole PSN body are pharmacists and if at all they are fair, they cannot be as fair to the extent of witch-hunting ?their members and at our own expenses they can be doing that to us.

"So, we are appealing to the federal government as a matter of urgency to create a separate board of the patent medicine association in order to free them from the bondage of the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria."

Ajibola stated further that,"our members are first point of call in any community, we carry out first aids treatment, we also treat uncomplicated cases like malaria, diarrhea, minor home accident, wounds among others and we refer complicated cases to the health centres. These are done under our license which cover only over the counter drugs (OTC).

"Our role as first aid provider cannot be over emphasised judging from the number of lives that we are saving particularly our members that are operating in rural areas where there is no health facilities nor pharmacy but anywhere you go, you find ou?r members, bridging the gap and the vaccum left by other health providers."

Ajibola who said that, the association has recorded a huge success since he came on board as the president of the body added that, he had made the association a household name in the promotion of justice and equity among its members in the state.

He therefore pledged to be more committed to the interest of the members so as to take the association to greater height.