The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, has charged pharmacists to take up the opportunity available in the ongoing amendment of the nation’s extant laws to send bills for amendment of laws relevant to their field.
He also charged pharmacists in the country to be more innovative in their fields to create breakthroughs that will improve the country and elevate it in the comity of nations.
The speaker said this when he received a delegation from the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria in his office yesterday.
In a press release issued by his special adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan, the speaker noted that it was high time the pharmaceutical council went ahead to be innovative, rather than rely on administration of products of research from other countries.
The Speaker said, “I want you to have a bigger vision and not just the traditional practice. The reason being that if we don’t innovate as a nation, there is no way we can develop as a country. I want to see a situation whereby members of your profession join the ranks of people who are discovering things and not just administering things that have been discovered in other climes.”
He charged them to avail themselves of the opportunity available in the current amendment of statutes of Nigeria laws going on in the House of Representatives to make relevant changes to the ones that relate to their field.
The Speaker said, “Look at how we can streamline these laws, amend them and then quickly pass them into law so that we can incorporate changing dynamics of our society into our laws.”
He also pointed out that 80 percent of 130 bills seeking to amend law statutes have scaled through second reading on the floor of the House, while consideration of the budget will delay the passage of others before the end of the quarter.
“Your association should look at the laws and I believe that there are some aspects of the amendment that will concern the law regulating your profession. Very soon the relevant committee will convoke public hearings so that stakeholders will buy in into what we are trying to do.”
In his address, President of PSN, Ahmed Yakasai, who led the executive council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria on the visit, commended the House on the passage of the National Health Act 2014, while promising to partner with the Ministry of Health to see that it is properly implemented alongside the National Drug Distribution Guidelines by the Ministry of Health aimed at reducing fake drugs.
He also urged the Speaker to ensure that prompt consideration is given to a bill on Pharmaceutical Laws and Regulation which will soon be forwarded to the House for passage. The bill, according to him, is aimed at making the profession more effective and up to global practice.
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