Posted by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has been asked by the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) to convince the state’s Ministry of Agriculture and veterinary doctors to wait for a court ruling before deciding who will have authority over veterinary clinics in the state.
The group emphasized the need of taking this step to forestall a looming crisis in the state.
BANKPAWA reported that FinRel Pharmacy, Supermarket, and Bakery in Ibadan was shut after the Oyo State government, through the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Olasunkanmi Olaleye, claimed that the business was running an illegal veterinary pharmacy.
However, ACPN urged the Governor to wait for the ongoing court verdict before taking any further action on the supervision of veterinary clinics in the state, in an open letter sent to the Governor.
In a petition signed by association chairman Pharmacist Adebayo Gbadamosi, the group asserted that it had launched a lawsuit challenging the state’s veterinary clinic licensing regulations with the Federal High Court in Ibadan.
He was sorry that the Oyo State Ministry of Agric and Natural Resources and the Veterinary Medicine Association had sealed the pharmacy and harassed its members when the courts were on yearly recess while the matter was pending.
On Wednesday, BANKPAWA obtained a copy of the petition written by Gbadamosi, who claimed that the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association and the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria have been at odds about who is responsible for the regulation of animal medications in the country.
According to him, the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria is the legal entity for the regulation of animal drugs and biologics and has the mandate to determine who is charged with the responsibility of storage, sale, and dispensation of animal drugs and biologics, as confirmed by the judgement delivered by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court of Nigeria in the Abuja Judicial Division on Friday, March 24, 2017.
The Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association in the state, according to Gbadamosi, sponsored a measure at the State Assembly that was later enacted into law in order to target Community Pharmacists who are licensed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria.
He said that ACPN had challenged the decision in a lawsuit currently pending at the Federal High Court in Ibadan, but that the ministry and the veterinary doctors had not waited for the court’s verdict before sealing the drugstore.
He urged Makinde to convince those involved to stand down pending the outcome of the legal case.
The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, which is responsible for animal medicine regulation in Nigeria, and the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association have been at odds recently. In a ruling issued on March 24, 2017, the Federal High Court of Nigeria’s Abuja Judicial Division confirmed that the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria is the legal entity for the regulation of animal drugs and biologics and has the mandate to determine who is responsible for the storage, sale, and dispensing of animal drugs and biologics. The ruling was delivered by Hon. Justice (Dr.) Nnamdi O. Dimgba.
A bill that would have required public hearings and inputs from various sectors of the state’s government was sneaked into the Oyo State House of Assembly by the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association, who were dissatisfied with the outcome of the courts. As a result, the bill became law in Oyo State with the specific intention of targeting Community Pharmacists who are licensed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria to sell and dispense medications for both humans and animals. Under the guise that they deal in animal medications and biologics, Ministry of Agric and Natural Resources employees and veterinary medicine practitioners have begun an assault on pharmacies in violation of this law by sealing their establishments.
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Oyo State branch, fought the change by filing a lawsuit in the Federal High Court, Oyo State Division, asking the court to interpret the law and bring it into line with earlier rulings from courts with the appropriate level of jurisdiction. Unfortunately, while the issue is pending in court, the Oyo State Ministry of Agric and Natural Resources cooked up a media trial against one of our colleagues, FINREL PHARMACY, by releasing a video alleging to show animal handling at the business.