The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has called for urgent reforms in the country’s pharmacy sector, warning that the mass migration of pharmacists, weak regulatory systems, medicine insecurity and rising drug abuse are posing serious threats to public health and national development.
The association made the call at its 45th Annual National Scientific Conference, held from July 27 to August 1, 2026, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The conference, themed “UNITY 2026: From Local Pharmacy Practice to Global Impact – Managing Complex Healthcare Systems,” brought together senior government officials, regulators, legislators, professional leaders and pharmaceutical industry stakeholders to deliberate on the future of pharmacy practice and Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Speaking at the event, ACPN National Chairman, Pharm. Ezeh Ambrose Igwekamma, described the conference as an important platform for strengthening collaboration between the pharmacy profession and government.
Igwekamma said pharmacists were ready to partner with government and other stakeholders in the national interest, urging policymakers to recognise the profession as a strategic component of healthcare delivery and national development.
The conference attracted prominent personalities, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard M. Doro; Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago; President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Pharm. Ayuba Tanko Ibrahim; and several past PSN leaders.
Akume commended ACPN for its contribution to the provision of quality medicines and urged pharmacists to deepen collaboration with state governments, particularly in tackling medicine insecurity and other health challenges.
The PSN President and chief host, Pharm. Ayuba Tanko Ibrahim, stressed the importance of professional unity and policy coordination, noting that community pharmacists were among the most accessible healthcare professionals and often served as the first point of contact for millions of Nigerians.
Representing Governor Bago, Niger State Commissioner for Health, Dr Murtala Muhammad Bagana, described community pharmacies as resilient frontline healthcare centres whose strategic role should be fully integrated into Nigeria’s primary healthcare system.
The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), Pharm. Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, said the council was strengthening professional regulation, including efforts to improve the regulation of online pharmacy practice.
He added that the PCN facilitated specialised Mandatory Continuing Professional Development training during the conference, covering cardiopulmonary resuscitation, professional ethics and substance abuse prevention.
Delivering the keynote address, titled “Raising Community Pharmacy Practice in Nigeria to Global Standards: Navigating the Complex Nigerian Political System,” Pharm. Wale Oyenuga urged stakeholders to move pharmacy practice beyond traditional medicine dispensing and reposition it as a comprehensive healthcare service.
Oyenuga proposed a five-pillar transformation agenda built around a unified national vision, rigorous quality standards, digital-first data systems, formal integration of community pharmacists into primary healthcare and greater participation in healthcare financing under the National Health Insurance Authority Act.
He noted that despite their accessibility to Nigerians, community pharmacists remained largely unintegrated into national health policy, a gap he said must be addressed if Nigeria is to attain global standards comparable to those in Europe, North America and leading African countries.
Other pharmacy leaders also called for reforms.
Chairman of the Board of Fellows of the PSN, Pharm. Uche Nroegbu Apakama, urged senior pharmacists to mentor younger professionals, promote health equity and participate more actively in policy formulation at the federal, state and local government levels.
National Chairman of the Clinical Pharmacists Association of Nigeria (CPAN), Dr Maureen Nwafor, described collaboration between community and clinical pharmacists as essential to ensuring continuity of patient care.
Similarly, National Chairman of the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN), Pharm. Elechi Oyim, called for stronger cooperation among pharmacists across different practice settings to advance universal health coverage, medicine security, patient-centred care and sound health policies.
National Chairman of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP), Pharm. Sir Bankole Aminu Ezebuilo, also advocated closer collaboration across the pharmaceutical value chain.
The conference further examined emerging challenges in medicine regulation, with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) warning that global supply chains, cross-border commerce, digital marketplaces, emerging diseases, antimicrobial resistance, artificial intelligence and sophisticated counterfeit medicine networks were reshaping the pharmaceutical environment.
Representing NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, Dr Ramatu Momodu said the agency’s responsibility extended beyond product registration to the entire lifecycle of medicines, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that pharmaceutical products remained safe and effective.
She described community pharmacists as indispensable partners in safeguarding the medicine supply chain and urged them to maximise digital regulatory tools, including the NAFDAC Greenbook, Med Safety App and Scan2Verify technology.
Momodu urged pharmacists to ensure that every community pharmacy functioned as a surveillance post and every pharmacist acted as a guardian of the medicine supply chain.
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) also advocated stronger integration of community pharmacists into Nigeria’s healthcare financing and universal health coverage framework.
Representing the NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr Muyiwa Aina, Pharm. Hauwa said universal health coverage would require the formal integration of community pharmacists into health policy, expansion of their clinical scope of practice and inclusion in health insurance reimbursement models.
NHIA Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, similarly advocated greater use of Nigeria’s extensive community pharmacy network to expand healthcare coverage and promote more effective decentralised health financing.
9,000 Pharmacists Emigrate
One of the major concerns raised at the conference was the increasing migration of pharmacy professionals from Nigeria.
Igwekamma disclosed that approximately 9,000 pharmacists had emigrated from Nigeria in the four-and-a-half years to December 2025.
He attributed the trend to poor reward systems, delayed enforcement of drug distribution guidelines and disorganised medicine procurement networks.
According to him, the exodus had continued in 2026, with more than 850 pharmacists obtaining letters of good standing from the PCN within the first six months of the year in preparation to relocate to countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.
He warned that the continued departure of skilled pharmacists was creating a serious manpower shortage, with implications for patient safety, healthcare delivery and the sustainability of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector.
To address the situation and strengthen the pharmaceutical industry, ACPN called on the Federal Government to support executive and private members’ bills targeting some of the sector’s longstanding challenges.
The association proposed amendments to the Fake Drug Act to introduce tougher penalties, including 20 years’ imprisonment for first-time offenders and life imprisonment with total asset forfeiture for repeat offenders.
It also advocated the establishment of a Drug Management Agency to institutionalise the Drug Revolving Fund and the creation of a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy to train specialist pharmacists locally, reduce dependence on foreign training and conserve foreign exchange.
Igwekamma further proposed the establishment of a Presidential Committee on the Pharmaceutical Sector to drive the proposed legislative agenda and address persistent bottlenecks affecting the industry.
ACPN Raises Concern Over Drug Abuse
The ACPN chairman also expressed concern over the country’s growing drug and substance abuse crisis.
Citing data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Igwekamma said more than 21.2 million Nigerians were abusing various substances.
He identified unemployment, poverty, dysfunctional family structures, peer pressure, inadequate public awareness, weak enforcement of drug laws, porous borders, corruption, poor prescription control and social media influence as some of the major drivers of substance abuse.
The association consequently called for tougher sanctions against illicit drug dispensers, increased taxation of tobacco and alcohol, modern rehabilitation centres and enhanced capacity for relevant agencies, including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), PCN and NAFDAC.
The association maintained that urgent and coordinated action was required to protect Nigeria’s pharmaceutical workforce, strengthen medicine security, curb substance abuse and reposition community pharmacy as a critical component of the country’s healthcare system.
