NAFDAC advises exporters to stop embarrassing Nigeria

The National Agency for Food And Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has
advised Nigerian exporters to stop embarrassing
the country by obtaining the agency’s
certification of products.
The Spokesman of NAFDAC, Dr Abubakar Jimoh,
gave the advice while fielding questions from the
Newsmen on Monday in Abuja on the rejection
of about 25 Nigerian produce by the European
Union (EU) between 2015 and 2016.
Jimoh explained that the EU had rejected the 25
exported food products from Nigeria for lack of
standard.
Some of the food products on the EU rejection
list from Nigeria include beans, sesame seeds,
melon seeds, dried fish and meat, peanut chips
and palm oil, among others.
He therefore urged exporters to subject their
products to NAFDAC’s standard and
internationally accredited laboratories for proper
certification.
He said that the screening and certification of
any product for export by NAFDAC was free of
charge in spite of facilities, personnel and
chemical reagents being used to conduct such
tests.
“The Federal Government is doing this as a
deliberate policy to encourage our exporters and
to satisfy international standards for exports.
“We are now appealing to our exporters not to
run away from product certification of NAFDAC, it
is free and we don’t charge anything for such
service.
“We have adequate personnel and equipment to
carry out such responsibility in the country,’’
Jimoh said.
The spokesman lamented that the action of
exporters has put the country’s image in bad
light and also cause a huge loss to the
exporters themselves which had implication to
the economy of the country.
According to him, NAFDAC had six functional
laboratories that conduct various types of
products test across the country.
He also decried exporters’ penchant for
bypassing NAFDAC and smuggling of their
products at the detriment of the country’s
economy and their income.
Jimoh said that the agency had two functional
laboratories in Lagos, one each in Kaduna, Agolo
in Anambra, Maiduguri and Port Hacourt, while
the one in Calabar had not been completed.
He disclosed plans to establish another
laboratory in Benue to serve exporters in the
North Central part of the country.
Jimoh, who is also the NAFDAC Director Special
Duty, noted that the laboratory in Lagos had
been accredited internationally and any product
that gets approval from such lab would be
recognised globally.
He confirmed that the EU had certified the
laboratory in Lagos and considered it as meeting
the world standard.
He disclosed that Kaduna laboratory was
inherited by NAFDAC from the Federal Ministry of
Health and later gutted by fire, but that the
agency had built a new lab.
The spokesman added that the Kaduna
laboratory was built to serve all agricultural farm
produce coming from the north for screening
and certification and exportation.
He added that the laboratory has required
facilities and equipment and was now awaiting
international accreditation.
According to him, Agolo, a regional laboratory
built by NAFDAC and inaugurated sometime in
2010 by former president Goodluck Jonathan,
also has the capacity to serve exporters from
the South East region.
“The EU team that visited our lab in Lagos about
a year and half ago were happy with what they
met on ground.
“We have two laboratories in Lagos, the one in
Oshodi deals with food products, micro toxic,
High Liquid Performance Chromatography and
pesticide residues, while the one in Yaba deals
mainly on drugs.
“Laboratory is capital intensive and we cannot
have it in every state; therefore those we have
now serve states close to them.
“We have the capacity and we are well prepared
to ensure all our exported products from the
country get NAFDAC’s clean bill of health as an
agency charged with responsibility of quality
control,” he said.
Jimoh also urged the Nigerian Customs Service
to continue to cooperate with NAFDAC in
ensuring that such products were not smuggled
out of the country.
Meanwhile, the All Farmers Association of
Nigeria (AFAN) in Kano S says it will convene a
meeting with producers of agricultural products
affected by the EU rejection policy to reverse the
development.
The state AFAN Secretary, Alhaji Garba Bichi,
told Newsmen in Kano that the meeting would
draw all stakeholders from across the state in
order to find a lasting solution to the problem.
“We have decided to convene a meeting with all
those affected by the EU rejection on some
agricultural products in order to address the
issue.
“The rejection is as a result of the failure of
producers to meet standards due to incorrect
application of pesticides and other agrochemical
substances.
“So we feel it is necessary to meet with affected
farmers and other stakeholders to find a way
out,” Bichi said.
He assured that even though some of the
affected products were not produced in the
state, but the association would meet with the
affected producers with a view to taking a
collective decision on the issue.
The scribe said the meeting was expected to
come up with useful recommendations for
immediate implementation and if possible seek
technical advices from experts.
An official of the Nigerian Export Promotion
Council (NEPC) in the Kano State told NAN on
condition of anonymity that the council last year
trained some farmers of a particular product,
following the development.
The official, who, works at the Enquiry Desk, said
the training which was held in Kaduna, was
conducted on melon and ginger where farmers
were given technical advices on how to add
value to their products and ease acceptability in
the international markets.