As part of its effort to ensure that tenets of good pharmacy practice
is strictly adhered to, the Pharmacy Society of Nigeria (PSN) has
warned pharmacists in all cadres to be ready to comply with payment of
their practicing fees in view of section (14(1) of the PCN Act or face
conviction.
In a statement made available to Newswatch Times, the National
President of PSN, Pharm. Ahmed Ibrahim Yakasai, stressed that section
(14(1) of the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) Act stipulates
that conviction is penalty for payment defaulters.
Section (14(1) of the PCN Act states: “No registered person shall
practice as a pharmacist in any year unless he has paid to the Council
in respect of that year, the appropriate practicing fee which shall be
due every January.
“It is important to inform members of the PSN that after due
consultation with the PSN NEC, the PCN has taken a bold decision to
invoke the provisions of section 14(6) of the PCN Act which posits that
“any pharmacist who in respect of any year without paying the practicing
fee practices as such is guilty of an offence and is liable on
conviction,” Yakasai said.
Similarly, the PSN President also warned chemist or selling dispenser
who fails to comply with the provisions of the PSN Act to be ready to
face the law, stressing the need for every them to comply with the
statutory/legal imperatives of the relevant pharmacy laws which include
the proviso in part II section 4(1) and (2).
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Cross section of National Executive Committee (NEC) during the PSN National Conference,
“Unity 2015”, Abuja
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According to him, the proviso of the act states inter-alia: “4(1) A
selling dispenser shall in the month of January in each year sent to the
Registrar a list of all the premises (form B) where his business, so
far as it comprises the sale of drugs is being carried on and the name
of the selling dispenser or chemists having the personal control (form
J) of the business on each premise.
“4(2) A selling dispenser or chemist who fails to comply with the
provisions of this section is guilty of an offence and liable on
conviction in respect of each offence.”
Yakassai further reiterated its directive for all pharmacists and
pharmaceutical companies to fulfill the protocols of regularizing their
membership of PSN following which they would be issued clearance
certificates by the respective state branches.
The PSN boss said its yearly payment of practising fee to the council
is geared towards achieving the desired goal of the body, stressing
that penalties are attached to defaulters.
He however pleaded with stakeholders to give its maximum cooperation
to ensure the success, adding that it will aid smooth operation of the
arrangement in the ultimate professional and public interest.
He said: “This is particularly key to achieving a faster pace of
licensure of practitioners and pharmacy facilities to ensure that the
tenets of Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) are entrenched for consumers of
health in Nigeria.
“In 2016 the procedures will entail that all pharmacists and
pharmaceutical companies fulfill the protocols of regularizing their
membership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) following
which they would be issued clearance certificates by the respective
state branches.”
Yakasai stressed that the clearance certificates will subsequently
serve as a criteria for obtaining the statutory forms B and J at the
state/zonal offices of the PCN by all players.
This story was published in Newswatch Times on January 7, 2016.
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