The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is set to commence the registration and certification of chemical manufacturers’ products and premises as part of its collaborative efforts to explore the international market to enhance the nation’s foreign exchange earnings and serve as a potent catalyst for industrial growth.
The NAFDAC’s Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, gave this hint during a virtual chemical manufacturers’ stakeholders’ meeting organized by the agency with the aim of sensitizing, 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 explained that the objective of the deliberations support the current focus of the NAFDAC management to bring its regulatory activities in line with international best practices.
According to her, the Chemical Evaluation and Research Directorate of the agency has the mandate to safeguard public health by ensuring that only the right quality chemicals are manufactured, imported, exported, distributed, sold and used in Nigeria.
Adeyeye disclosed that the directorate had put in place effective regulations and guidelines for sound chemical management in Nigeria.
“This is achieved by ensuring proper utilization of chemicals in a manner that reduces risk to health and environment and advocating for use of chemicals that are less harmful and hazardous’’, she said.
Resident Media Consultant to NAFDAC, Sayo Akintola, in a statement on Sunday quoted the NAFDAC boss 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 admitted that chemical products manufactured in Nigeria would enjoy wider acceptability and high competitiveness with the NAFDAC registration identity.
According to her, 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.
“Chemicals no doubt play a pivotal role in the economic development of any country. Nigeria as an economy in transition has many needs of Chemicals for her numerous industries”, she said.
Adeyeye stressed that some of these chemicals are now manufactured in the country and this creates an environment of heightened concern that NAFDAC is expected to play a leading role in strengthening Chemical safety and security.
The NAFDAC Act empowers the agency to undertake appropriate investigations into the production premises and raw materials for food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, bottled water and chemicals and establish relevant quality assurance systems, including certificates of the production sites and of the regulated products.
Adeyeye further said 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 our health and protect the environment. This underscores the reason why we communicate any change in regulations to our stakeholders.
She however, disclosed that listing of Chemical manufacturers was initiated to address the existing gap in the regulation of the manufacture of chemicals in Nigeria.
“Manufacturers required to be listed as a chemical manufacturer include those involved in the manufacture of specialty chemicals, laboratory chemicals and reagents, industrial chemicals, inks, paints, adhesives, wood preservatives & polishers, cleaning chemicals, agrochemicals, biocides, fertilizers, car care chemicals”.
She noted that the use of chemicals had increased geometrically in the past years in Nigeria resulting in increase in the local manufacturing capabilities for chemicals.
This increase in local chemical manufacture and industrialization of the economy, Adeyeye said, had resulted to growth in the chemical industry in Nigeria, noting that the safe and secured management of chemicals, especially in the manufacturing sector is therefore an issue of growing importance that requires a collaborative effort between the regulators and the industry.
Chief executive officers of chemical manufacturing companies, including members of the Amalgamated Association of Chemical Marketers of Nigeria, that participated commended the ingenuity and courage of the NAFDAC boss in creating the directorate dedicated to the regulation and control of the nation’s chemical industry.
