A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the hike in prices of essential drugs in the country.
Oyintiloye, who made the appeal during a chat with newsmen in Osogbo, said many Nigerians are currently unable to access most essential drugs due to the extreme high prices.
He said the escalating prices of the drugs could be attributed to a combination of factors, such as the withdrawal of GSK, a major player in the pharmaceutical industry, the high rate of inflation in devaluation of naira, among others.
Oyintiloye said the aforementioned factors, among others, had made prices of drugs such as Amlodipine, Augmentin, Paracetamol, Exforge, Coartem, and other essential drugs to become unaffordable for the common man.
According to him, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the value of medicines imported into Nigeria rose by 68 per cent to N81.8 billion between July and September 2023.
Oyintiloye, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council, said the surge in the prices of drugs had placed a significant financial strain on individuals and families already struggling with the harsh economy.
He noted that patients struggling with chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, tuberculosis, among others now find it difficult to cope with the surge in the prices of their medication.
