Kano Destroyed N3bn Fake Drugs In Past One Year —Official

The Kano State Government said on Thursday it had destroyed fake and adulterated drugs worth over N3 billion in the last one year.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran, disclosed this in Kano at the 5th Annual Symposium of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (AIPN).

He said the measure was necessary in order to check the sale of sub-standard drugs and curb the growing menace of drug abuse among young people in the state.

“The state government, through its task force on counterfeit drugs, has made the environment very hot for importers of illegal and fake drugs,” Labaran said.

He disclosed that the state government had trained and empowered 1,800 graduates of health institutions on the sale and distribution of drugs.

The commissioner said this was part of efforts to sanitise the system of drug distribution.

“The sole aim of this is to ensure that members of the public are provided with standard drugs,” Labaran said.

According to him, the state government was also implementing the Drug Revolving Fund Scheme in 500 health facilities across the state.

“This is in line with the determination of government to check the distribution and sale of sub-standard drugs,” he said.

The commissioner charged members of the public to report any suspicious movement of drugs to the task force for investigation and appropriate action.

He assured that the state government would support industrialists with the intention to establish pharmaceutical companies in the state.

Earlier, the Kano State Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mr Ahmed Gana, had commended the state government.

He said this was for waging war against drug abuse and sale of sub-standard drugs in the state.

Gana, who is the Northern Co-ordinator of AIPN, also commended the state government for sponsoring 101 students to study pharmacy abroad.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the symposium is “Investment Opportunities in the Pharmaceutical Sector in Northern Nigeria”.