FG urged to empower pharmaceutical sector

The Federal Government has been urged to take tactical steps to empower the pharmaceutical sector in order to increase the nation’s value chains which are the engines for national development.

This view was expressed by the Chairman, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Oyo State Chapter, Mr. Abiodun Ajibade, at a press conference to kick-start the association’s Pharmacy Week, in Ibadan.

According to him, Nigerian Pharmaceutical Industry has been majorly dependent on imports, which has led to a huge loss in foreign exchange.

While he stressed that this situation should be reversed urgently, Ajibade said local production of drugs must be given the necessary impetus to develop.

He added that the population of youths which he put at over sixty-five percent, with as much as Seventy percent of them currently unemployed is very unfortunate, saying that, the youths are the power of any nation and must be positively engaged and other sectors of the economy

given critical attention rather than over-dependence on oil.

Ajibade said “with a structured partnership with the government for a pharmaceutical industrial farm, where provision of electricity, low tax regime, support for equipment procurement and leasing, incentives for locally made pharmaceuticals, the much awaited paradigm ship is possible.

“The pharmaceutical industry can therefore, become a hub engaging other industries into economic activities. Many cottage industries would spring up in meeting the needs of the industry. It is this strength that is observed in India and China which are currently the

global pharmaceutical industrial hub.

“We cannot continue to cry over the split milk, Nigeria needs to diversify her economy. We cannot continue to rely on oil for our income. Advanced technologies are looking for ways to make oil irrelevant to global economy. The advent of electric cars and many more technologies looking for alternative sources energy are on the increase.”

Bolaji Omosanya, Ibadan