The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), says local pharmaceutical manufacturers are poised to leverage the lacuna created by the exit of foreign pharmaceutical companies to boost medicine production.

Mr Oluwatosin Jolayemi, Chairman, (PMG-MAN) and Managing Director of Daily-Need Industries Ltd, said this in an interview with The Tide source on Saturday in Lagos.

The Tide source reports that pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Nigeria Ltd, exited the country due to challenges with foreign exchange, ease of doing business, multiple taxation, importation bureaucracy, among others.

Jolayemi said that the industry was ready, noting that between six to 11 pharmaceutical factories were poised to produce products that GSK, Sanofi and other pharmaceutical companies had produced.

“Maybe there are some SKUs that we do not have capacity for. The ones that we have capacity for, which is the bulk of what they bring into the country, we are ready for.

“But the issue is that medicine is not just like sewing clothes or buying shoes. There is a process to manufacture medicine.

“But we are ready in the industry because we have between 6 and 11 factories that are poised to produce those products that GSK, Sanofi and others have. And because most of these products are generic, we are poised to produce them,” he said.

He emphasised that the government must have a policy statement and be deliberate to ensure local pharmaceutical companies fill the gaps and thrive through an enabling environment and business-friendly regulation.

“Either the government or NAFDAC has to be able to take advantage and let the local industry take advantage of the lacuna.

“And give priorities so that the prices of drugs, particularly these antibiotics could come down.

“But, as long as we are still holding on to the bottlenecks, the problem continues to linger, and the cost of medicines remains high,” he said.

On bottlenecks that should be addressed, Jolayemi cited issues with regulation and the process of registration.

“We are not asking for the standard to be dropped. We are just asking that we should work together in the interest of the populace and see how we can begin to make these products available.

“Because these products are generic. They are not rocket science. They are not new molecules. They are old molecules that have been in the market for 20, 30 years.

“So, this is something that we could always work around, but it is left to government and NAFDAC to decide,” he said.

Speaking on the rising cost of medicine, Jolayemi attributed it to fluctuating foreign exchange rate, indiscriminate custom tariff regime, high cost of electricity tariff and operating cost, among others.

He stressed that it was cheaper to produce locally, noting that active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients are mostly imported by manufacturers.

Jolayemi disclosed that a German company and another consortium are currently investing in API manufacturing.

“They are doing the formal analysis. And we hope that if those ones come on board, they cannot supply all the APIs that are required in the industry.

“But at least they will be able to take care of the usual regular ones that are common to use in the industry,” he said.

The Chairman urged the Federal Government to assist manufacturers with soft loans and grants to boost production as done by the governments of India and China.

“Government needs to encourage pharmaceutical companies because APIs and medicine are national issues.

“The government needs to see healthcare as a national policy and begin to take it like that because if you have hospitals, no matter how beautiful your hospitals are, if there are no medicines, the hospital just becomes a consulting unit,” he said.

Jolayemi emphasised that the government must prioritise healthcare, especially medicine production, availability and affordability for its citizens.

The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) have directed their members across the country to mobilise for a nationwide protest.

In a circular directed to all branch chairmen of the two unions and made available to the media in Abuja, yesterday, the unions said the protest would commence tomorrow, July 9, across the state chapters of the federation, and a national protest in Abuja on July 18.

The circular was jointly signed by the General Secretary of NASU and the National President of SSANU, Peters Adeyemi, and Mohammed Ibrahim, respectively.

The unions said the protest follows the recent breakdown of dialogue between the Joint Action Committee of the two bodies and the Ministers of Education and Labour and Employment.

The statement read, “The National body of the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU met on Thursday, 4th July 2024, to appraise and take a position on the current situation in respect of the withheld four months’ salaries and other grievances of our members in University and Inter-University Centres.

“Similarly, the National JAC, on invitation, met with the Minister of Education; Honourable Minister of State for Education; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education; other top officials of the Ministry and National Universities Commission.

“Unfortunately, the engagement with the Minister of Education has not shown any convincing commitment to the payment of the withheld salaries and resolutions of other pending grievances of JAC of the two unions.

“It is also disheartening that the JAC was also at the Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment, and as usual, the Honourable Minister of State was not on seat to receive us, as we were informed that she had an urgent call from the villa. The Permanent Secretary who stood in for her could not make any commitment on the issues raised.”

According to the circular, the unions said they had decided on a series of industrial actions following the failure of the Federal Government to address their grievances.

It added, “In view of this disappointment and failure of government to address grievances of NASU and SSANU, JAC has decided on a series of Industrial actions which include the following; All branches of NASU and SSANU should mandatorily hold a general meeting on Monday, 8th July, 2024 to sensitise members on the insensitivity of government to our plights.

“A one-day protest should be held on Tuesday, 9th July 2024, at each branch simultaneously. Every branch should ensure that all members fully participate in the protest and that the media is adequately mobilized.

“A national protest will be held in Abuja on Thursday, 18th July 2024, after which JAC will meet to announce a date when the strike action will commence. Further information will be communicated appropriately. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation in this regard.”

The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) on Sunday advised Nigerians not to engage in panic buying of fuel for stockpiling purposes.

Its Executive Secretary, Mr Clement Isong, gave this advice in an interview with newsmen due to the ongoing queues at filling stations across Lagos.

Isong explained that the shortfall of product in most stations was due to adverse weather and hunderstorms that delayed ship-to-ship (STS) trans-loading, among others.

Others, he said, included berthing at jetties, truck load-outs and transportation of products to filling stations, creating a disruption in station supply logistics.

He noted that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had also warned that the loading of petrol should be avoided during rainstorms and lightening.

Isong emphasised that petroleum products were flammable and required transportation, dispensation, consumption and storage in strictly controlled and regulated manners.

“Any deviation from these regulations poses significant danger and risks, including fatalities.

“We wish to reiterate that there is no cause for alarm. We strongly urge Nigerians to avoid panic buying or stockpiling of petrol.

“This behaviour not only creates artificial scarcity but also poses a significant safety hazard,” Isong said.

He added that the delay in loading petroleum products at depots due to storms contributed to the shortfall of stocks in filling stations.

“Many trucks could not load product for over 48 hours during the storm.

“Now that the weather is clear, marketers have begun loading, and all trucks have commenced distribution of fuel to all stations across the country.

“We want to assure Nigerians that there is no scarcity, and they should not stock petrol at home,” he said.

He recalled that Malam Mele Kyari, the Group CEO, NNPC  Ltd., had said that the Customs had inaugurated a team named, “Operation Whirlwind” to combat the smuggling of petroleum products to neighbouring countries.

He quoted Kyari as saying that the  the team would protect the nation’s economy from the adverse effects of smuggling petroleum products.

Isong also mentioned that illegal smuggling of the product to neighbouring countries had increased the country’s consumption to between 58 to 60 million litres per day.

To address this, he noted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL), had tightened up the supply chain to avoid illegal smuggling.

According to Isong, NNPCL is buying and importing petrol at international prices and selling at a considerably domestic price.

The Tide source correspondent, who monitored the situation in Lagos, reported that queues for petrol have resurfaced in parts of the city, with fuel stations packed with vehicles waiting to fill their tanks.

The long queues extended to road networks, causing gridlock in some areas.

Some consumers were also seen queuing at closed filling stations in hopes of accessing the product.

Long queues were observed at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) stations on Ikorodu Road, Fadeyi, Bariga, and the Ogba axis of Lagos.

Similar situations were seen at NIPCO stations in Fadeyi, Surulere, and Ago Palace Way.

In Epe, queues for petrol were prevalent at T-Tap, TotalEnergies, Enyo and Petrocam.

In Ikorodu Town, vehicles were lined up at Mobil, TotalEnergies, NIPCO, and Malo stations at Odogunyan First Gate.