Pharmacists Urge Senate To Reject Pharmaceutical Technologists, Pharmacy Technicians Council Bill

… Say It’ll Create Chaos, Duplicate Healthcare Regulatory Functions

… Passage By House Of Representatives Ignored Legislative Consultationson

LAGOS – Pharmacists under the Young Pharmacists Group (YPG), a PSN affil­iate have urged the Sen­ate to reject and stop the recently passed bill by the House of Rep­resentatives to establish the Phar­maceutical Technologists and Pharmacy Technicians Council from receiving the Presidential assent.

YPG-PSN, an interest group, whose membership consists of young pharmacists, under the auspices of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), argued that the move would destabilise the country’s already fragile healthcare system.

In a press statement, the YPG Chairman, Pharm. Tekena George described the develop­ment as a “disastrous oversight” and accused lawmakers of ignor­ing expert advice and evidence presented by key stakeholders.

The Bill’s Passage Ignored Legislative Consultations

In his statement titled, “The Health Sector And National Dig­nity At Risk From Legislative In­sensitivity: A Call For Patriotism And National Consciousness By The Young Pharmacist Group,” George criticised the recent pas­sage of the bill to establish the Pharmaceutical Technologists.

Condemning the Bill, he al­leged that the passage of the Bill on the establishment of Pharma­ceutical Technologists and Phar­macy Technicians Regulatory Council disregards years of legis­lative consultations and research that warned of its potential to cre­ate chaos in the health sector.

His statement partly reads, “With mounting pressures on healthcare services and inef­fective coordination, the health sector particularly the drug and Vaccine supply chain manage­ment, a key pillar of healthcare, the health sector stands on the precipice of collapse- a disaster that is entirely preventable with appropriate decisive legislative action.

“Sadly, the recent development in the House of Representatives is alarming as the shocking failure of legislative action to safeguard our health sector and uphold the dignity of the National Assembly was on display,” George allegedly lamented.

Bill Will Create Chaos, Duplicate Healthcare Regulatory Functions

George has expressed concerns that the bill undermines existing agreements and will introduce confusion into the healthcare sys­tem by duplicating functions and unnecessary regulatory burdens.

YPG-PSN Chairman explained that the contentious bill has been on the legislative agenda since 1999, drawing widespread criti­cism during its public hearing in 2018. Stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigerian Medical Association, and the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, warned that the bill’s provisions duplicate the func­tions of the already established Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN).

In addition, the National In­stitute for Legislative and Dem­ocratic Studies (NILDS) had advised lawmakers against pur­suing the bill, citing comprehen­sive research that underscored its redundancy and potential for harm. Despite these warnings, the House of Representatives recently passed the bill during a session chaired by Deputy Speak­er Benjamin Kalu, George alleged in his statement.

The YPG-PSN boss further underscored that the concept of pharmaceutical technology, as proposed in the bill, conflicts with global practices. In coun­tries like South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, pharmacy regulatory bod­ies oversee pharmacy technicians as a sub-cadre of the pharmacy profession.

The group also highlighted that Nigeria’s Ministry of Education and the PCN had already signed a 2024 agreement to abolish the training of pharmaceutical tech­nologists in the country.

The statement further reads, “There is no doubt that the at­tempt towards the establishment of Pharmaceutical Technologists and Pharmacy Technicians regu­latory Council envisioned by the Bill will create another regulato­ry body manned by sub-cadre per­sonnel with functions completely overlapping with the functions of Pharmacy Council of Nigeria. It will certainly introduce into the drug distribution system, an un­precedented chaos. It will also further add unnecessary burden on the government without cor­responding value.

“This same Bill appeared to be one of the most featured items on the legislative agenda since 1999. However, the Bill went through a Public Hearing at the 8th Assem­bly on December 11, 2018. At the said event, almost all stakehold­ers were represented and made presentations.

“All the stakeholders present­ed strong position papers all to the effect that the proposed bill would create chaos in the health sector. It was the common posi­tion that the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) through section 4 of the PCN Act (Functions of the PCN) already performs the function that the bill sought to achieve. We expect the House of Representatives to have a record of the event.

“Thereafter, the National Insti­tute for Legislative and Democrat­ic Studies (NILDS), an organ of the National Assembly that con­ducts research to promote sound legislative processes conducted comprehensive research on the proposed Bill and eventually ad­vised the Legislators against fur­ther consideration of it.

Ministries, PCN, NBTE Abolished Pharmaceutical Technology Qualifi­cation

George clarified that on April 17, 2024, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoH&SW), Federal Ministry of Education (FMOE), PCN, and National Board for Technical Ed­ucation (NBTE) signed an MOU to abolish the Pharmaceutical Technology training in Nigeria. The Memorandum of Under­standing (MOU) explicitly states that individuals trained in this qualification will have no place within the healthcare industry, a decision deemed necessary due to the qualification being consid­ered an aberration.

He emphasised that Pharma­ceutical Technology is a postgrad­uate qualification specifically designed for pharmacists spe­cialising in industrial pharmacy practice, particularly in drug in­dustrial production.

“The FMoH&SW, FMOE as parent Ministries, the PCN, and NBTE signed an MOU on April 17, 2024, to abolish the training of Pharmaceutical Technology in Nigeria. The MOU stated clearly that all those trained in that qual­ification have no place within the healthcare industry. This is right­ly so because such qualification is an aberration.

“It is also appropriate to in­form the National Assembly and the General Public that the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) issued a memo to the Reg­istrar of the Council of Ghana dated November 20, 2024 to also stop undergraduate training for Pharmaceutical Technology.

“The fact is that Pharma­ceutical Technology is a post­graduate qualification for a Pharmacist who specialises in industrial Pharmacy practice (Drug Industrial Production),” George stressed.

Global Role Of Pharmacy Regulatory Bodies In Technician Supervision

George emphasised that phar­macy regulatory bodies world­wide are legally mandated to reg­ulate both pharmacy technicians and pharmacy practitioners. He explained that this supervision is essential, as pharmacy techni­cians are considered a sub-cadre within the pharmacy profession.

The statement added, “There is no doubt that the attempt towards the establishment of Pharmaceu­tical Technologists and Pharmacy Technicians regulatory Council envisioned by the Bill will create another regulatory body manned by sub-cadre personnel with func­tions completely overlapping with the functions of Pharmacy Coun­cil of Nigeria. It will certainly in­troduce into the drug distribution system, an unprecedented chaos. It will also further add unneces­sary burden on the government without corresponding value.”

Withdraw Pharmaceutical Technolo­gist, Pharmacy Technicians Regula­tory Council Bill

The YPG-PSN urged the Senate to reject the bill and prevent its progression to the President for assent.

George called on the Senate President to intervene, empha­sising that the passage of the bill would waste taxpayers’ money and further strain the health sec­tor.

Additionally, he has pleaded that the Senate President should intervene to ensure that the Sen­ate does not process the bill.

The statement also reads, “It is our considered opinion that the passage of the Pharmaceuti­cal Technologist and Pharmacy Technicians Regulatory Council of Nigeria Bill is an oversight on the party of the Distinguished Members of House of Represen­tatives. In order to avoid wasting taxpayers’ money and to avoid a situation where a Bill is sent to the President by the National Assembly and is returned to the floor of the house on the grounds that it is a usurpation of the pow­er or duplication of responsibility and mandate of an already exist­ing government agency, it is sug­gested the Bill be stepped down. In the meantime, we request fa­vourable intervention of the Sen­ate President to ensure that the Senate does not process the Bill.”

They warned that failure to act decisively could plunge Nigeria’s healthcare sector into unprece­dented chaos, eroding public trust and jeopardising lives.

“This action not only jeop­ardises public health but also un­dermines the integrity and repu­tation of the National Assembly.”