The establishment of the National Quality Council (NQC) to promote enhanced development,
\nharmonization and rationalization of Nigeria\u2019s Quality Infrastructure is part of measures put
\nin place by the Federal Government to tackle and mitigate the constant rejection of Nigeria\u2019s
\nexport products in the international market which has become an emergency.<\/p>\n
Chairman and Chief Executive of the NQC, Osita Aboloma who stated this in Abuja, posited
\nthat the various legs of the quality infrastructure, namely standards development, metrology,
\nconformity assessment and accreditation require urgent harmonization and rationalization.<\/p>\n
These, he said would ensure cost effectiveness and efficiency in support of the acceptance of
\nNigeria\u2019s export products around the world.<\/p>\n
Responding to questions on the recent assertion by the Director General, NAFDAC, Professor
\nMojisola Adeyeye that 70percent of Nigeria\u2019s food exports are rejected in Europe and America,
\nAboloma corroborated the statement, stating that sanitary and phytosanitary requirements
\nare some of the key issues to be surmounted to avoid the constant rejects.<\/p>\n
The SPS requirements according to him, are quarantine and biosecurity measures applied to
\nprotect human, animal and plant life or health risks arising from the introduction,
\nestablishment and spread of pests, diseases as well as from the use of additives, toxins and
\ncontaminants in food and feed.<\/p>\n
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
\nsolution lies in accelerated development, rationalization and harmonization of the Nation\u2019s
\nquality infrastructure for optimum value addition.<\/p>\n
He stressed the need for greater synergy amongst organizations and institutions in the public
\nand private sectors, hosting the National Quality Infrastructure as well as greater awareness
\ncreation for operators along the export value chain.<\/p>\n
According to him, the National Quality Council was created to implement the letters and spirit
\nof the approved Nigerian National Quality Policy (NNQP) document which provides for
\nefficient and effective management of regulatory responsibilities to achieve protection of
\nsociety and the environment as well as transparent and reliable state-regulatory systems,
\ndevoid of bureaucratic vagaries.<\/p>\n
He said others include the provision of a supportive National Quality Infrastructure (NQI),
\nwhich consists of Standards, Metrology, Accreditation and Conformity Assessment Services
\nthat must be acceptable globally to enhance the competitiveness of products and services
\nmade in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Office of the Chairman
\nAboloma explained that Standards serve as benchmark for products and service quality;
\nmetrology ensures accuracy of measurements in industry for both equipment and products;
\naccreditation assures mutual recognition of competencies in Nigeria across borders while
\nconformity assessment entails inspection and testing of products to meet destination
\nrequirements.<\/p>\n
The NQC according to him is domiciled in the Presidency under the Office of the Secretary to
\nthe Government of the Federation to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks in the discharge of its
\nmandate like similar bodies in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n
He stated that countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa that have promoted
\nharmonized quality infrastructure are reaping the benefits in huge inflow of foreign exchange
\nfrom unhindered exports, listing America, India, United Kingdom, Morocco, Ghana and Kenya
\nas good examples.<\/p>\n
Aboloma stated that the NQC would promote industry access to conformity assessment
\nservices that are affordable and acceptable globally so that Nigerian made products can be
\nmarketed under the motto: “Tested once, certified once, and accepted everywhere”.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that the Council would work to ensure that all Nigeria\u2019s goods, services and
\npersons\u2019 certification comply with relevant standards, technical regulations and applicable
\naccredited conformity assessment requirements of domestic, regional and international
\nmarkets and yet be competitive.<\/p>\n
These he said will affirm Nigeria\u2019s leadership in the African
\nContinental trade and better position its huge market and its people to benefit optimally.<\/p>\n
The NQC Chairman admonished Nigerian Exporters to take optimum advantage of the existing
\nquality infrastructure in the country, to save the Nation scarce foreign exchange, increase the
\nefficiency of the export value chain and mitigate the rejection of Nigerian made products
\nacross regional, continental and international borders.<\/p>\n
Aboloma assured Stakeholders of the National Quality Council\u2019s preparedness to work
\nseamlessly and in close collaboration with all stakeholders in the public and private sectors
\nto ensure rapid improvement in the Nation\u2019s quality infrastructure.<\/p>\n
This he said will promote efficient and effective service delivery as well as overall economic
\nemancipation, in order to benefit immensely from the implementation of the African
\nContinental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.<\/p>\n
The NQC Chairman appealed for maximum cooperation from all Ministries, Departments and
\nAgencies (MDAs) of Government, the organized private sector groups, development partners
\nand all other stakeholders in quality related activities to assist the Council achieve its
\nmandate aimed at improved competitiveness of made-in-Nigeria goods and services in the
\nglobal market.
\n\u2018Bola R. Fashina
\nChief of Staff to Chairman\/CE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The establishment of the National Quality Council (NQC) to promote enhanced development, harmonization and rationalization of Nigeria\u2019s Quality Infrastructure is part of measures put in place by the Federal Government to tackle and mitigate the constant rejection of Nigeria\u2019s export products in the international market which has become an emergency. Chairman and Chief Executive of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2388,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2386\/revisions\/2388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}