Soludo seeks pharmacists’ support against fake drugs

By Steve Oko Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has called for stronger collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) to tackle fake drugs, improve healthcare delivery and position the state as a major pharmaceutical hub. Soludo made the call while declaring open the 99th Annual National Conference of the PSN, tagged Ijele 2026, in Awka.

Speaking on the theme, “One Health, One Pharmacy: Bridging Knowledge, Practice and Policy for National Impact,” the governor described pharmacists as indispensable partners in building an efficient and sustainable healthcare system. He urged the professional body to work with his administration to enforce standards and sanitise the pharmaceutical sector, particularly by tackling counterfeit medicines and illegal operators posing as licensed pharmacies.

Soludo said his administration was consolidating Anambra’s position as a pharmaceutical hub through the development of a pharmaceutical hub in Oba and a Coordinated Wholesale Centre, which he said was expected to be completed early next year. The governor also highlighted his administration’s investments in education and healthcare, saying the provision of free education from kindergarten to secondary school had reduced the state’s out-of-school children rate to 0.25 per cent, which he described as the lowest in the country.

He further disclosed that the state had strengthened its primary healthcare system, provided free antenatal services to more than 250,000 beneficiaries and conducted over 950 free caesarean operations for expectant mothers. Earlier, PSN President, Pharm. Ayuba Tanko Ibrahim, commended Soludo for his support for the pharmaceutical profession. Ibrahim described Anambra’s hosting of the conference as the fulfilment of a longstanding commitment and praised the governor’s leadership and vision.

He said the conference provided an opportunity to deepen cooperation between the pharmaceutical profession and government towards improving healthcare delivery.