The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) says it is not giving up the dream of building a Postgraduate College of Pharmacy to further advance the development of the profession in the country.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 98th Annual National Conference of PSN tagged ‘DABO 2025’ held in Kano, the President of the Society, Pharm. Ayuba Tanko Ibrahim, said the college which will be Nigerian-oriented would be a major boost to the existing West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists.
According to him, PSN will intensify its demand for enabling legislation for the project, which he emphasised is an integral part of a holistic redefinition of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical workforce to meet global standards.
“The pharmacy profession must build a new workforce that must be holistic, broad based, versatile and experienced to train pharmacists and other health workers at undergraduate and postgraduate levels,” he said.
Ibrahim reiterated PSN’s unwavering commitment to upholding international best practices by institutionalising a career stratum in the hospital system.
He cited the firm resolve of PSN on the contentious move by some stakeholders to admit Pharmacy Technologists in the hospital career strata despite a non-existence of these players as known in international best practice, Ibrahim eulogised Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) for its informed decision over the issue.
Describing the attempts to legitimise the training and absorption of Pharmacy Technologist in the hospital medical strata as an aberration, Ibrahim insisted that “Pharmacy Technologist was an unwarranted cadre in Nigerian hospitals.
“The PSN believes in the global norm of the pharmacy workforce that is hinged on Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians.”
He recalled, albeit, with indignation, efforts by proponents of pharmacy technology to foist the idea on the nations, but was thwarted by an “enabling circular dated August 28, 2025” following a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) and National Board for Technical Education(NBTE) forbidding the training of pharmacy technologists in Nigeria, while officially recognising appropriate training of the Pharmacy Technician cadre, which according to Tanko “is the global standard in Pharmacy Practice”.


