The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 313 unregistered illegal medicine shops and 33 unregistered pharmacies in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.


The council said the closure was made when its national enforcement team visited the state, where about 386 medicine shops in three Local Government Areas were inspected.


The Director and Head of the Enforcement Department in PCN, Stephen Esumobi, disclosed this while briefing newsmen at his office in Port Harcourt on Thursday evening.


Esumobi said in recent times, PCN had approved structures in states for effective engagement and regulation of stakeholders in the drug distribution chain across the country.


He added that the Pharmaceutical Inspection Committees and Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendor Committees engaged and sensitized stakeholders on the need to comply with relevant regulations.


Esumobi was surprised that despite the council’s efforts in Rivers State, many patent medicine shop owners and other stakeholders have chosen to operate with total disregard for public safety.