All the open drug markets in the country are to be shut down latest by December 31, 2018, as part of moves to check the influx of fake pharmaceutical products into Nigeria.
They will be replaced by mega wholesale centres.
The first set of the proposed drug wholesale centres, will become operational as from January 1, 2019 in Lagos, Onitsha, Aba, and Kano
Health minister, Professor Isaac Adewole, made this known in Lagos, at a stakeholders workshop organized by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC).
The minister explained that the proposed mega wholesale centres will enable sourcing of drugs directly from manufacturers and importers.
In August, Adewole had first announced the decision when he visited the site for the construction of a Pharmaceutical Coordinated Wholesale Centre at Oba, near Onitsha in Anambra.