The establishment of the National Quality Council (NQC) to promote enhanced development, harmonisation and rationalisation of Nigeria’s Quality Infrastructure is part of measures put in place by the Federal Government to tackle and mitigate the constant rejection of Nigeria’s export products in the international market which has become an emergency.
Chairman and Chief Executive of the NQC, Osita Aboloma, who stated this in Abuja, explained that the various legs of the quality infrastructure, namely standards development, metrology, conformity assessment and accreditation require urgent harmonisation and rationalisation.
Aboloma explained that Standards serve as benchmarks for products and service quality; metrology ensures accuracy of measurements in industry for both equipment and products; accreditation assures mutual recognition of competencies in Nigeria across borders while conformity assessment entails inspection and testing of products to meet destination requirements.
According to him, the NQC was domiciled in the presidency under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks in the discharge of its mandate like similar bodies in other parts of the world.
He stated that countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa that have promoted harmonised quality infrastructure are reaping the benefits in huge inflow of foreign exchange from unhindered exports, listing America, India, United Kingdom, Morocco, Ghana and Kenya as good examples.
These, he said, would ensure cost-effectiveness and efficiency in support of the acceptance of Nigeria’s export products around the world.