The Federal Government is taking steps to tackle and mitigate the constant rejection of Nigeria’s export products in the international market, which has become an emergency.
The Chairman and Chief Executive, National Quality Council (NQC), Osita Aboloma, who stated this in Abuja, said the agency was established to promote enhanced development, harmonization and rationalization of Nigeria’s quality infrastructure.
He said that the various legs of the quality infrastructure — standards development, metrology, conformity assessment and accreditation require urgent harmonization and rationalization, to ensure cost effectiveness and efficiency in support of the acceptance of Nigeria’s export products around the world.
He corroborated the recent assertion by the Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, that 70% of Nigeria’s food exports are rejected in Europe and America.
Aboloma cited sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) requirements as some of the key issues to be surmounted to avoid the constant rejects, according to a statement by the Chief of Staff to Chairman/CEO, ‘Bola Fashina.
The SPS requirements include quarantine and biosecurity measures applied to protect human, animal and plant life or health risks arising from the introduction, establishment and spread of pests, diseases as well as from the use of additives, toxins and contaminants in food and feed.
Aboloma alluded to a recent Vanguard Newspaper report of Nigerians shipping goods to Ghana for certification to enhance export value as being unacceptable, stressing that the solution lies in accelerated development, rationalization and harmonization of the Nation’s quality infrastructure for optimum value addition.
He stressed the need for greater synergy amongst organizations and institutions in the public and private sectors hosting the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) as well as greater awareness creation for operators along the export value chain.
According to him, the Council was created to implement the letters and spirit of the approved Nigerian National Quality Policy (NNQP) document. This provides for efficient and effective management of regulatory responsibilities to achieve protection of society and the environment as well as transparent and reliable state-regulatory systems, devoid of bureaucratic vagaries.
Others include the provision of a supportive National Quality Infrastructure, which consists of standards, metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment services that must be acceptable globally to enhance the competitiveness of products and services made in Nigeria.
The Nigerian National Quality Policy provides for efficient and effective management of regulatory responsibilities to achieve protection of society and the environment as well as transparent and reliable state-regulatory systems, devoid of bureaucratic vagaries.
Standards as benchmarks
Aboloma explained that Standards serve as benchmarks for products and service quality; metrology ensures accuracy of measurements in industry for both equipment and products; accreditation assures mutual recognition of competencies in Nigeria across borders while conformity assessment entails inspection and testing of products to meet destination requirements.
The NQC, according to him, is domiciled in the Presidency under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks in the discharge of its mandate like similar bodies in other parts of the world.
He noted that countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa that have promoted harmonized quality infrastructure are reaping the benefits in huge inflow of foreign exchange from unhindered exports, listing America, India, United Kingdom, Morocco, Ghana and Kenya as good examples.
Aboloma said further that the NQC will promote industry access to conformity assessment services that are affordable and acceptable globally so that Nigerian made products can be marketed under the motto: “Tested once, certified once, and accepted everywhere”.
He emphasized that the Council will work to ensure that all Nigeria’s goods, services and persons’ certification comply with relevant standards, technical regulations and applicable accredited conformity assessment requirements of domestic, regional and international markets and yet be competitive.
These, he said, will affirm Nigeria’s leadership in the African Continental trade and better position its huge market and its people to benefit optimally.
The NQC Chairman admonished Nigerian exporters to take optimum advantage of the existing quality infrastructure in the country, to save the nation’s scarce foreign exchange, increase the efficiency of the export value chain and mitigate the rejection of Nigerian made products across regional, continental and international borders.
Aboloma assured stakeholders of the Council’s preparedness to work seamlessly and in close collaboration with all stakeholders in the public and private sectors to ensure rapid improvement in the nation’s quality infrastructure.
This, he said, will promote efficient and effective service delivery as well as overall economic emancipation, in order to benefit immensely from the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
The NQC Chairman appealed for maximum cooperation from all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government, the organized private sector, development partners, and all other stakeholders in quality related activities to assist the Council achieve its mandate aimed at improved competitiveness of made-in-Nigeria goods and services in the global market.
