QualityTimes

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NATIONAL
QUALITY
INFRASTRUCTURE
FOR NIGERIA

A quarterly newsletter published by the National Quality Infrastructure Project a project funded by European Unions 10th EDF Programme for Nigeria.

E D I T O R I A L

building trust for trade

N O T E S

C O N T E N T S

01

Editorial Notes

02

News and Features

In July 2013, the European Union and the United Nations Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO) signed an agreement to support Nigeria to improve the nations
quality infrastructure in a bid to expand its economic base towards the productive non-oil
sectors.

04

Partnerships and Events

With the provision of a national quality infrastructure, standards and quality control
agencies will be much improved, and key supervisory organisations can be created where
the need is identified. What this means is that average Nigerians get quality when they
pay for goods and services exchanged in the Nigerian and international markets. This allows
private sector businesses to grow to be more competitive, while guaranteeing consumers
rights are protected as they receive good value for every Naira spent.

05

Tools and Resources

BUILDING TRUST FOR TRADE THE JOURNEY BEGINS

With EUR 12 million funds from the European Union, the National Quality Infrastructure
(NQI) project will support the promulgation of a National Quality Policy and the
establishment of a national accreditation body. The project will also help equip the
National Metrology Institute with essential tools and deliver training support. The private
sector and conformity assessment bodies will be empowered to participate within the NQI
framework, with the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) actively involved in training and
enlightening the Nigerian populace on issues of quality and consumer rights and remedies.
This first issue of Quality Times guides us through the evolution of the five systems that
make up the Nigerian quality infrastructure, and spotlights the linkages with the Federal
Governments economic vision. The editorial team looks at legal and policy development
activities, the birth of key institutions that would nurture the quality infrastructure
framework and solid partnerships to sustain private sector involvement with a focus on the
actions of CPC and NAFDAC to safeguard consumer safety and well-being. Key tools and
resources are listed such as the NQI Directory of Testing and Calibration Laboratories in
Nigeria a dynamic database of core conformity assessment services provided in Nigeria.
- From the desk of the Editor.

This project is funded by the European Union

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This project is implemented by UNIDO

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

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The work of the NQI team seeks to instil a quality way of life that leads to
improved value in business , communities and homes. Standards, conformity
assessment and quality control bodies are set to be developed through the
NQI Project to guarantee the integrity of the new quality infrastructure.

Lets Talk About the Quality Policy

In September 2013, the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and
Investment, Mr. O. Aganga nominated a multi-stakeholder committee which
was tasked by the Ministry to produce the National Quality Policy for
Nigeria. Under the supervision of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, the
eight sub-committees formed as working groups in January 2014 focused on
the specialist areas of Metrology, Standardisation, Accreditation, Conformity
Assessment, Technical Regulations, Certification, and also Communications,
and Budget and Planning. UNIDO experts have reviewed the Draft Quality
Policy for Nigeria and the work of the steering committee will be presented
to the Minister soon after the public consultations to raise awareness of the
essence of quality systems are concluded in the six regions of Nigeria in
November 2014.
Synergies
The NQI Project deploys a coordinated strategy to support the
implementation of the National Policy on Food Safety in an arrangement
with the Department of Food Safety at the Federal Ministry of Health.

The National Accreditation Body

The National Quality Infrastructure is supporting the establishment of a
Nigerian-based institution charged with providing accreditation services to
certification bodies , testing and calibration laboratories in Nigeria. The
UNIDO Accreditation Expert worked closely with a team drawn from public
institutions and the Nigerian private sector to plan the business structure of
the National Accreditation Body with the necessary reference to proficiency
testing needs. With key business planning and governance documentation
now available, the NAB is to be inaugurated in October 2014.

NAFDAC DG Affirms Accreditation is Good

for Business
The NQI Project team caught up with Dr. Paul Orhii, the
Director-General of the National Agency for Food, Drug
Administration and Control, shortly after the NAFDAC
Central Laboratory in OshodI received international
accreditation for its Mycotoxins and Pesticides testing
operations. UNIDOs technical assistance under the
regional West African Quality Programme supported the
laboratory to meet the requirements for accreditation.
An excerpt from the interview granted by Dr. Orhii
What determined the decision to pursue international
accreditation for the NAFDAC Mycotoxins and Pesticides
Laboratory under the European Union-Funded West
African Quality Programme?
DR. ORHII: First and foremost, at NAFDAC we are working
to standardise most of our procedures and operations to

Q U A L I T Y

T I M E S

Developing the National

Metrology Institute
The Department of Weights and
Measures in the Federal Ministry
of Industry, Trade and Investment
as the responsibility to oversee the
legal metrology environment in
Nigeria, while the Standards
Organisation of Nigeria deals with
scientific metrology.

The technical framework finalised

by UNIDO experts working on the
EU-funded NQI Project will be
applied to develop a National
Metrology Institute in Nigeria. This
work will be done in tandem with
the related SON Metrology
Laboratory Project funded by the
Federal Government of Nigeria to
create a regional reference
laboratory for metrology in West
Africa. The chosen site is in Enugu.
UNIDO has supported knowledge
transfer initiatives including a
study tour to Mexico and
Guatemala in June 2014, and has
also organised training for staff of
the Department of Weights and
Measures (FMITIT) at AFRIMETS
Legal Metrology School in Tunisia
in October 2014.

international levels.
We have been upgrading all our laboratory facilities,
refurbishing them and also training our staff in keeping
with international standards.
The only way we can show that our operations are at an
international level is to obtain international accreditation.
Through this exercise, our laboratory facilities can be
appraised by inspectors, qualified in the evaluation and
accreditation of laboratories, who look at
Our processes
Our existing infrastructure
Our personnel especially the level of training they
have received and the level of commitment they
demonstrate to following standards.
It is only then, the inspectors are able to give us their
assessment feedback.
This is what determined our desire to seek accreditation
(continued on page 3)

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Conformity

F E A T U R E S

Assessment

and

the

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Private

Sector

In June this year, the UNIDO NQI team held several

consultative sessions with the Organised Private Sector (OPS)
and some business member organisations (BMOs) to discover
the main limitations faced within the conformity assessment
environment. The common challenges identified include
abundance of business entities operating outside the formal
sector, certification hurdles within SME product markets and
lack of access to accurate information on the means to satisfy
the demands of conformity assessment regimes.
UNIDO has brought in an International Expert on the Private
Sector who is working with the NQI team to develop next-step
actions from the recommendations of the working groups. A
certification roadmap is under development with focus on
building the capacity of SMEs to apply standards in their
operations.
The Bank of Industry, the National Agency for Food, Drug
Administration and Control; and the Standards Organisation of
Nigeria also provided insight. The dialogue also resulted in the
public distribution of the SON e-Catalogue of Standards.

The NAFDAC Success Story (continued)

Here at NAFDAC, we began to pay attention, and to test

even the products that are consumed within the country
to ensure that they were compliant with regards to the
contents of these contaminants.
What concrete benefits and advantages have resulted
from this achievement for the NAFDAC Central Lab,
and for the Organisation as a whole?
DR. ORHII: In the laboratories of course, the revenue will
increase because many request our services they trust
our laboratory. Both national and international producers
are in contact to see if they can have their products
tested in our laboratory. It builds confidence in our
systems at NAFDAC.
Businesses are now queuing up to use the testing
services provided by NAFDAC, and existing clients want
to increase their business with us.
Q U A L I T Y

T I M E S

Protecting Consumers
Within the context of the NQI
Project, UNIDO developed an
integrated work plan with the
consumer rights regulatory
agency the Consumer
Protection Council (CPC) to
support its mandate to protect
the rights of consumers in
Nigeria. The results of this
partnership will include a
formal Charter for Consumers,
capacity development for CPC
consumer awareness training
units. Experts from UNIDO
have developed training
modules to develop the
capacity of CPC personnel to
apply standards for quality
management systems.

Prior to receiving this accreditation, we were not particular

about working on outside samples, but we are going to
expand that area of our operations now.
Businesses and public institutions respect us more
especially our peer agencies worldwide knowing that we
can get our laboratories through the accreditation process.
This demonstrates that we are committed to following
standards that are set globally.
For the NAFDAC staff, it improves their morale. They now
know that their competence is comparable to other
laboratory personnel globally.
The news that we qualified for accreditation is a big boost
for NAFDAC, as congratulatory messages keep pouring in
from all over the world. The news has spread that NAFDAC
is one of the highest regulatory agencies that has met the
requirements to secure accreditation of its laboratory
operations by an international accreditation body A2LA.
Businesses and public institutions have more confidence in
our laboratory results because they know that laboratories
that have received accreditation had to have
demonstrated consistently top-quality performance to
meet the essential requirements to qualify for
accreditation.
In all, this is a very big boost for us and we hope to start
generating some real income from that laboratory now.
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P A R T N E R S H I P S

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BEST BEFORE DATE CONSUMER PROTECTION

COUNCIL

The NQI Project works

with

The Consumer Protection Council, in furtherance of its mandate,

launched a Check the BB (Best Before) Date Campaign in Abuja
on 30 June 2014. This Campaign aims to sensitize the Nigerian
consumers on the importance of the best before or expiry dates
of products and to make it compelling for consumers to always
check dates indicating shelf life before making purchases.

the National Planning

Commission, and the
Department of Food Safety -

This serves as a method of ensuring that products purchased and

used by consumers are of the required quality.

Federal Ministry of Health.

The BB Date is the expiry date of a product or the length of time

that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use or
consumption. It applies to foods, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs,
batteries, skin-care products, tyres, paints and many other items.
Many Nigerians either do not understand or plainly ignore the BB
(Best Before) Date on products while making purchases. Dubious
businesses capitalise on this to expose consumers to grave risks by
placing in the market products that are either without BB Dates
indicated, or are past the date of expiry.
This CPC Campaign, which commenced in June 2014, has similarly
been flagged off in Lagos. Plans have been concluded to
aggressively spread this Campaign to the grassroots through the
Councils eight offices in the cities of Abuja, Osogbo, Port Harcourt,
Awka, Minna, Katsina and Bauchi; and also to Lagos and Aba with
the support of the NQI Project.

EVENTS GALLERY

Organised Private Sector

Consultations

Laboratory Survey

Project Governance

Q U A L I T Y

T I M E S

Project Log-Frame Workshop

Metrology Training

Conformity Assessment Seminar

Metrology Consultations

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R E S O U R C E S

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TOOLS AND RESOURCES

NQI
Project
Website

Directory of
Testing and
Calibration
Laboratories

Laboratory
Mapping
Report

NQI Project Brochure

NQI Reports

UPCOMING EVENTS: OCTOBER DECEMBER 2014

Institutional Development
Inauguration of the National Accreditation Body Abuja
Regional Public Consultations on the Quality Policy Calabar, Minna, Gombe,
Enugu
National Consultation on the Quality Policy Abuja

Field Assignments
Site Inspection: National Metrology Institute Enugu
Africa Industrialisation Day Celebrations Abuja

Capacity Building
NQI National-wide Capacity Building on International Standards for
Management Systems for Staff of the Consumer Protection Council.
National Steering Committee Study tour on Quality Policy Development.
NQI Knowledge Management and Impact Reporting Workshop for the Press.

Federal Ministry of Industry,

Trade and Investment
Old Secretariat, Area 1
Garki-Abuja
Nigeria

info@fmti.gov.ng
www.fmti.gov.ng

For Contact and Enquiries:

e.ubebe@unido.org
Partnership and Visibility Unit
National Quality Infrastructure Project
www.nqi-nigeria.org
UNIDO Office in Nigeria
UN House, Plot 617/618
Central Business District
Abuja, Nigeria
Tel.: (+234) 9 2205009
office.Nigeria@unido.org

Delegation of the European

Unlon to Nigeria
21st Crescent,
Off Constitution Avenue
Central Business District
P.M.B. 280 Garki-Abuja
Nigeria
Tel: (+234) 9-4617800
delegationnigeria@eeas.europa.eu
www.delnga.ec.europa.eu

SME
Guide