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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has appointed 600 pharmacists from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a volunteer reserve force to strengthen the fight against substandard and falsified medicines, unhealthy food and drug abuse.
The initiative is known as the Pharmacists Reserve Volunteer Program (PRVP), designed to expand NAFDAC’s regulatory reach by creating a pool of trained and vetted pharmacists who can be mobilized at short notice to support emergency regulatory operations, product recalls, surveillance and investigations.
Inaugurating the volunteers and taking the oath of allegiance, the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, charged them to maintain integrity, confidentiality and discipline in the discharge of their duties.
Adeyeye warned that volunteers would encounter individuals who would attempt to compromise them, urging them to reject any inducement.
“The moment a regulator can be purchased, the public loses its only protection,” he warned.
He said the 600 pharmacists were selected through a transparent process based on merit, availability and equitable geographical representation, ensuring that all six geopolitical zones were covered.
He said the program was not an internship or ordinary service, but an investment in the future of pharmaceutical regulation in Nigeria.
The volunteers, he said, would receive practical exposure to compliance monitoring, quality assurance, data collection, public awareness, inspection and enforcement, as well as anti-drug abuse campaigns.
Adeyeye said the long-term goal is to create a permanent pool of qualified pharmacists in each state who can work alongside state NAFDAC offices whenever public health emergencies or regulatory challenges arise.
He stressed that regulation cannot remain focused on Abuja, laboratories and ports of entry if Nigeria is to effectively protect its more than 200 million citizens.
