The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has opposed the specialist cadre status of its members within the Lagos State Civil Service.
According to The PUNCH, the chairman of the Lagos State chapter, Babayemi Oyekunle, stated that pharmaceuticals in the state prefer the consulting cadre.
In a statement he personally signed, Oyekunle stated that the Pharmacist Consultant cadre had been requested and authorised at the federal level in 2011 and that a similar approval had been granted in Lagos during the administration of former governor Akinwunmi Ambode in 2018.
The leader of the PSN also questioned why an attempt is being made to replace the Consultant Pharmacy Cadre with a Specialist Cadre for which they never bargained or negotiated.
He noted that in 2011 the Consultant Pharmacy Cadre was approved by the National Council on Establishment and that it was re-validated in 2021.
Niger State, he said, was the first to adopt the circular from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation recognising the Consultant Pharmacist cadre in 2013, paving the way for subsequent states like Edo, Osun, Oyo, Ondo, and most recently Kwara.
However, he did mention that the Consultant Pharmacist Cadre already exists at Aso Rock Villa Clinic, NIPRD Health Centre, and a few other major facilities.
