Keynote Address by Prof. Adeyeye C M,
Director General NAFDAC
National Workshop for Stakeholders in the Export of
NAFDAC Regulated Products
20th May, 2024.
PROTOCOL
INTRODUCTION
I am delighted to welcome you all to this auspicious occasion of the National Workshop for Stakeholders in the Export of NAFDAC Regulated products. This is moreso, because today, we have commenced our ambitious journey in the direction of the much-desired inter-Agency collaboration and Public-Private Sector partnership, with the determination to bringing sanity into the semi-comatose regulated product export trade sector and to create a win-win future for all stakeholders. It is sad and surprising today that while all countries struggle to promote export trade in commodities that they have comparative advantage, we have all but left this profiting endeavour grossly unattended, leading to the unwelcome rejection of Nigerian exports in the international commerce with the attendant consequences, while we continue to remain a net importer of nearly everything we need, from raw materials to finished products.
WELCOME DEVELOPMENT
It is however not all sad news, as we have in the short time of our adventure to sanitize the system, enjoyed the collaboration of sister Government organizations like the Nigeria Export Promotion Council, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services, CBN Trade & Exchange Dept. housing the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme, the media, as well as other notable private sector organizations too numerous to mention here.
The presence and participation here today of some of these organizations is a testament to the hope in the great future awaiting us as we work together going forward.
REGULATORY OVERTURES
As a world class regulatory Agency and one of the only three in Africa recognized as a WHO ML3 Regulator for medicines and imported vaccines, with internationally accredited and certified Laboratories nationwide, run by a crop of highly seasoned manpower, NAFDAC is poised to change the narrative through the integration and incorporation of Global Best Practices in Export Trade Facilitation. While we know that this will not be a walk in the park, we have determined to pursue this dream from an out-of-the-box approach. The immediate low-hanging incentives available to compliant exporters will include Free or highly subsidized Technical Support for registered and cooperative exporters, free or near-free laboratory test charges, timely issuance of Export Certification and licensure for registered prepackaged products with satisfactory GMP, GHP and SPS facilities and products, as well as support for capacity building for sustained export trade in NAFDAC regulated products for which Nigeria has the comparative advantage. This is coupled with NAFDAC’s recommendations of such exporters especially the MSMEs to our sister development partners agencies for technical aids and financial support opportunities to enter their markets.
CHALLENGES
The previous and perennial state of international rejection of Nigerian exports has been attributed to (i) The gross absence or negligence of regulatory supervision in the area of Food safety and Quality, (ii) The evasion or rejection of statutory stipulations of minimum requirements for product quality, packaging, and storage conditions for shipping of regulated products in international commerce,
(iii) Ignorance of the regulatory requirements from the Importing country, (iv) Sourcing of products from the open market without consciousness of intrinsic quality and state of commodities regarding pesticide residue, microbial load and aflatoxin content, (v) Corruption of regulatory systems and operatives as well as (vi) Sabotaging national interest on the altar of selfish and temporal gain, vii. Deliberate and myopic unprofessional practices such as adulteration of goods and commodities for weight gain, etc.
WAY FORWARD
Going forward, we are determined to challenge the status-quo and we request the support and goodwill of well-meaning exporters to cooperate with us in this endeavour. We are assiduously working with the relevant stakeholders (like the CBN Trade & Exchange Dept, The Nigeria Customs Service, The Federal Ministry of Trade & Investments, PIAs etc.) towards the full automation of our Export Licensing of regulated products on the National Single Window for Trade, where NAFDAC Licenses will be a requirement for issuance of Form e-NXP for regulated products. We hope to achieve this through working closely with willing exporters right from the farm to the pack, inculcating and internalizing the principles of GAP, GHP and GMP, while incorporating global SPS measures into the products as part of Quality Assurance before goods even arrive the ports for shipment that is at consolidation and stuffing stages. We are also strengthening our in-country regulatory infrastructure. Our NAFDAC Statutory Export Regulation is in the process of being gazetted.
In the international scene, we are working with the EU and British Governments as well as other importing nations to take down the Alert level of Nigerian Exports to comfortable levels while we work in-house to positively reposition our export commodities. For instance, we are currently concluding our Evidence-based National Monitoring of Pesticide Residues as part of our continuous engagement with the UK FSA.
We are also developing a roadmap for lifting the ban on dried beans (cowpea) exports to Europe before the end of 2024.
CONCLUSION
As I bring my Keynote address to a close, I wish to appreciate the Ports Inspection Directorate of NAFDAC and the Office of Trade and International Relations, and other involved Directorates, FSAN VMAP, Food and Chemical Lab Services, DER, Zonal Directorates including LSO and FCT, etc. for their untiring efforts in pursuit of this dream. I wish to thank the Director of Ports Inspection Directorate, Dr. Abimbola Adegboye, who is retiring very soon. He has contributed significantly to the networking among sister agencies involved in exports within and outside the country. I call on all our stakeholders to join with us to restore the glory of Nigeria in respect of harnessing the huge potentials of our God-given resources to expand the wealth of our nation and create a win-win situation for all.
A Communique will be released from this stakeholder engagement, and I invite you all to join hands with NAFDAC in the implementation of the outcomes of this workshop for our collective good and to the glory of our God.
Thank you for coming, may God bless you all.
