The National Quality Council on Thursday said the adoption of the Nigeria National Quality Policy is pivotal in unlocking the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement for Nigeria.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Quality Council, Osita Aboloma, said this in Abuja during a chat with journalists.
Aboloma said the Federal Government established the National Quality Council to enhance development, harmonisation, and rationalisation of Nigeria’s quality infrastructure.
Speaking to journalists, Aboloma said the agency would assist in providing a supportive national quality infrastructure for the country.
He emphasised the importance of having globally accepted Standards, Metrology, Accreditation, and Conformity Assessment Services to boost the competitiveness of products and services produced in Nigeria.
He said, “Without adhering to the international standards, the country may not be able to enjoy the benefits of the AfCFTA as products from Nigeria will continue to suffer rejection due to non-conformity with standards.”
Meanwhile, he noted that AfCFTA was a bloc of over 1.3 billion people which was ratified in 2021 by over 47 African nations as of August last year.
Aboloma further stated that one of the things the agency would be doing in the short-to-medium term was to convene a stakeholders’ summit on the implementation of the National Quality Policy and how it affects every facet of the Nigerian economy.
“We plan to have a national discourse across the country where we will be discussing the details of the National Quality Policy, how it affects the various sectors of the economy and how it will improve our economy,” he stated.
According to him, “We will also be doing gap analysis that will look at gathering data for every laboratory that exists in Nigeria whether government or privately owned, what they are testing and their capacity for those tests.”
He noted that the council would analyse where the gaps are so that we can properly advise the government on what needs to be done in the short term, medium term, and long terms to ensure that trade and commerce within Nigeria, with our neighbouring countries and the rest of Africa and internationally, is going to be to the benefit of Nigeria.
Aboloma said those activities would generate jobs for the country, boost economic growth and increase exports for Nigeria.
