Ogun Assembly moves against sales of fake, expired drugs

 

By Demilade Michael

Ogun State House of Assembly has  passed a resolution calling on the State government through the relevant agencies to step up measures towards curbing the menace of fake and expired drugs in the society.

The passage of the resolution followed a motion moved by the Majority Leader, Yusuf Sheriff, seconded by Hon. Olakunle Sobukanla and supported by the Whole House through a voice vote.

Chairman, House Committee on Health and member representing Yewa North II State Constituency, Wahab Haruna who sponsored the resolution, had during a debate on the motion it,  decried the high rate of fake and expired drugs, citing an instance of some of his constituents who recently purchased an expired drug at a pharmacy.

He sought the need for the State government to empower the State Ministry of Health, State Hospital Management Board and other relevant agencies to embark on proper monitoring of the pharmaceutical stores across the State to ensure that fake and expired drugs were taken off the shelves.

Haruna appealed that the State Ministry of Health and other professionals bodies in the sector to collaborate to combat the menace, while ensuring appropriate sanctions and fines were put in place to serve as deterrent to future perpetrators.

Other lawmakers who spoke in support of the resolution including Honourable Babatunde Tella, Oluseun Adesanya and Adegoke Adeyanju said the effect of counterfeit drugs on the people were always too risky, applauding the State government for taking proactive measures to centralize drug testing and distribution through the State central medicine store to all public health facilities in the State.

They called for the deployment of more digital machines to check the status of drugs centrally before being dispensed in the State.

The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide noted that the selfish desire for inappropriate maximization of profit by unscrupulous elements in the sector led to the menace in the country

He  pointed out that the grave consequences of fake drug made some Asian nations resorted to subjecting the peddlers to capital punishments.

He implored the various enforcement and regulatory agencies to step up measures towards checkmating the sales and distribution of fake and expires drugs nationwide.