The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch, has raised alarm over what it describes as a dangerous shortage of pharmacists within the Lagos State Ministry of Health, warning that the situation is already undermining drug regulation and exposing the healthcare system to statutory breaches. The warning was issued by the branch chairman, Olaitan Ogunlade, during the 2026 Annual Luncheon and inauguration ceremony held in Lagos.
Ogunlade said the Directorate of Pharmaceutical Services in Lagos, long regarded as a model for other states, is now under severe strain because too few pharmacists remain in key regulatory positions. According to him, the depletion is creating gaps in drug control and weakening compliance structures across the state’s health system, threatening a legacy the directorate has built over many years.
He appealed to the Lagos State Government to intervene urgently and restore what he called a professional balance within the directorate, arguing that the crisis goes beyond staffing numbers and now poses a direct risk to medicine safety, oversight and public health outcomes. In practical terms, the concern is that weakened pharmaceutical supervision could affect how medicines are stored, dispensed and monitored across public health facilities.
The warning adds to broader concerns in Nigeria’s pharmacy sector about workforce pressures and regulatory capacity. For PSN Lagos, the message is that unless urgent corrective steps are taken, one of the state’s strongest health governance structures could lose its effectiveness at a time when safe medicine management is more important than ever
