Abuja — The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said it will commencethe registration of chemical manufacturing companies in Nigeria.
In a statement signed by the Resident Media Consultant of the agency, Mr. Sanyo Akintola, the Director-General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said it has agreed with the manufacturers of chemical products in Nigeria to explore how to penetrate the international market to enhance the country's foreign exchange earnings.
Adeyeye stated this yesterday during a virtual chemical manufacturers stakeholders' meeting organised by the agency with the aim of sensitising, enlightening, and creating awareness on the current trends in the regulation of the manufacture of chemicals with emphasis on the need to be listed as a chemical manufacturer in Nigeria.
She added that the objective of the deliberations augured well with the current focus of the NAFDAC management to bring the agency's regulatory activities in line with international best practices.
The NAFDAC boss noted that Chemical Evaluation and Research Directorate has the mandate to safeguard public health by ensuring that only the right quality chemicals are manufactured, imported, exported, distributed, sold and used in NAdeyeye disclosed that the directorate has put in place effective regulations and guidelines for sound chemical management in Nigeria.
According to her, This is achieved by ensuring proper utilisation of chemicals in a manner that reduces risk to health and environment, and advocating for use of chemicals that are less harmful and hazardous."
Resident Media Consultant to NAFDAC, Sayo Akintola, in a statement yesterday in Lagos quoted Adeyeye as saying that a portal has been created by the agency for registration of chemical products for effective quality control and strict adherence to international best practices.
She expressed the hope that chemical products manufactured in Nigeria would enjoy wider acceptability and high competitiveness with the NAFDAC registration identity.
Adeyeye said penetrating the international market would further enable the industry to grow with more Nigerians gaining employment opportunities sequel to the expected expansion in the operations of the manufacturers, and invariably the accompany development of the real sector of the economy.
She further noted that the law also compels all handlers of chemicals to adhere strictly to all the stipulated guidelines for sound chemical management in order to safeguard health and protect the environment.
The agency boss noted further that the use of chemicals has increased geometrically in the past years in Nigeria resulting in increase in the local manufacturing capabilities for chemicals.
The chief executive officers of chemical manufacturing companies among the over 94 stakeholders, including members of the Amalgamated Association of Chemical Marketers of Nigeria, who participated at the event, commended the ingenuity and courage of Adeyeye in creating the directorate dedicated to the regulation and control of the country's chemical industry.
The Managing Director of Brenntag Chemical Nigeria Limited, producers of liquid caustic Soda, Mr. Pieter De Konnick, a Belgian, said NAFDAC involvement in regulating the chemical manufacturing sector would bring it to limelight and reposition the Nigeria chemical industry for economic growth.
"This is my eighth year in Nigeria; this is the best thing that has happened to me in this industry," he said, as he showered encomiums on the leadership of the agency for the "wonderful job it has been doing."
Speaking in the same vein, the Managing Director of Unikem Industries Limited, producers of Ethanol from cassava, Mr. Uzor Kalu, and Mr. Paul Audu of Roychem Industries Limited, noted that the introduction of the online platform via electronic process by NAFDAC had made application and processing of the vital import documents completed in the last quarter of every year while manufacturers already have the documentation done in readiness for the new year.