The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has cautioned the National Assembly against what it described as “unnecessary bureaucracies” in proposed amendments to the National Health Act (NH-Act) 2014 and the creation of additional health commissions.
The position was contained in a statement jointly signed by the ACPN National Chairman, Pharm. Ambrose Igwekamma Ezeh, MAW, and National Secretary, Pharm. Omokhafe Ashore, FPSN, following Public Hearings held at the House of Representatives on November 18, 2025, and at the Senate on November 24, 2025.
According to the ACPN, various groups had pushed for the establishment of a Surrogacy Commission, a National Accreditation and Standards Commission, a Tertiary Health Institutions Commission, and Sickle Cell Research and Therapy Centres across all six geopolitical zones and the FCT. But the association described these proposals as legally unnecessary, economically unrealistic, and administratively wasteful.
The group argued that the National Health Act already created the National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee (NTHISC), which holds the lawful mandate to regulate tertiary hospitals, accreditation processes, organ procurement/trafficking controls, and related standards.
“The attempt to create three Commissions from the legal structures established in NH-Act 2014 is unnecessary,” the ACPN said. “All endeavours pertaining to the regulation of organ trafficking and procurement, surrogacy, and the monitoring and regulatory appraisals of standards or accreditation of Tertiary Hospital Facilities is already lawfully vested in the NTHISC.”
The association added that what has been lacking is not new commissions, but proper opp[doversight and adequate budgetary support for existing regulatory structures.
“What is missing has been adequate oversight responsibilities by the National Assembly, which ought to insist on providing a robust budget that positions the NTHISC to carry out its statutory responsibilities,” the statement said.
While acknowledging the burden of sickle cell disease in Nigeria, the ACPN criticised the proposal to establish seven Sickle Cell Research and Therapy Centres simultaneously. “A proposal to set up seven Research and Therapy Centres at once is both preposterous and unrealistic,” the association warned.
It noted that existing national research institutions — including the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) and the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) — remain severely underfunded.
“Presently, NIPRD doesn’t enjoy a recurrent or capital expenditure budget of up to 20 million monthly, which is why the pace of development is not upbeat in this Research Institute,” the statement noted.
The ACPN also criticised the proposed organogram for the new centres, describing it as “unprecedented in international best practices and extremely ridiculous.”
Instead, the association recommended: “What looks pragmatic is to set up one central Sickle Cell Research Centre and establish more therapy centres in the 73 Federal Health Institutions to improve advocacy, counselling, and treatment of Nigerians rather than creating new jobs ‘for the boys’ in an already battle-weary Health Sector.”
The ACPN further expressed concern about what it termed a systemic failure of governance at the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), accusing current leadership of partisanship and neglect.
According to the statement, the sector is witnessing:
· Non-reconstitution of boards of the 73 Federal Health Institutions
· Failure to inaugurate the boards of 13 professional regulatory councils
· Dormant boards of multiple MDAs
· Long-standing vacancies allowed to float for over a year
The association also drew attention to the ongoing JOHESU strike since November 15, 2025, which it described as a “debilitating paralysis of the FHIs” caused by unpaid 12-year entitlements and worsened by discriminatory policies.
The ACPN stressed that Nigeria’s limited health funding should compel “very realistic” proposals, not widespread bureaucratic expansion.
“One of the challenges, despite the highlighted absurdities, is a paucity of funds to support needed healthcare initiatives,” the association said. “This must therefore compel a very realistic initiation of proposals in public interest.”
The statement concluded with a firm appeal to legislators: “Finally, the ACPN urges the National Assembly to polish its appendages, such that we canvass new bureaucracies only when it becomes obviously inevitable to drive a new era of success stories.”
