President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on Nigeria’s organised private sector to consistently demand high-quality products and services from public sector counterparts, emphasising the need to instill a strong culture of quality across all economic sectors.
Speaking through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, at the opening of a workshop on Sustainable Provision of Metrology Services in Nigeria in Lagos, President Tinubu highlighted that maintaining high standards is crucial for enhancing Nigeria’s global trade competitiveness.
He stressed that prioritizing quality assurance would strengthen Nigeria’s position in the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), enabling seamless cross-border trade and economic growth.
The workshop was held under the auspices of the Standards Partnership Programme (SPP), supported by the United Kingdom Government through the Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, in the Office of the SGF, Dr. Maurice Mbaeri, the President stated that a more efficient and sustainable national quality infrastructure, as facilitated by the effective implementation of the Nigerian National Quality Policy (NNQP) under the SPP, would greatly support a significant increase in non-oil exports for increased foreign exchange earnings, a stronger Naira, improved capacity utilization, job creation and general growth of the economy and the welfare of the citizens.
He called on all relevant stakeholders in Nigeria to continue to be proactive in their roles to drive the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol, given Nigeria’s official endorsement as the Digital Trade Champion for the continent at the recently concluded 38th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Senator Akume expressed appreciation to the United Kingdom Government for the huge support and assistance it has been providing to the National Quality Council (NQC) towards the effective implementation of the Nigerian National Quality Policy through the SPP.
The Executive Chairman, NQC, Osita Aboloma, expressed the Council’s commitment to a more efficient National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) that accommodates both the public and private sectors and supports increased competitiveness of personnel, products, and services made in Nigeria.
Aboloma stated that the NQC mandate of effective implementation of the NNQP would positively impact the National Quality Infrastructure, especially about increased non-oil exports and mitigation of Nigeria’s export rejects, both of which, according to him, have potential to promote self-sufficiency and improved earning capacity from seamless trading with the rest of the globe.
Also speaking at the occasion, Dr Simeon Umukoro of the UK Department for Business and Trade at the FCDO reiterated the UK’s unwavering support for Nigeria’s economic diversification and trade enhancement efforts in line with the signed UK-Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership MoU being demonstrated through the Standards Partnership Program already at Phase II.
“The UK and Nigeria remain strategic partners in trade and investment. By improving Nigeria’s National Quality Infrastructure, we are unlocking new opportunities to drive innovation and competitiveness, eliminate technical trade barriers, improve regulatory compliance and promote export competitiveness and economic growth for both nations,” he said
Dr. Umukoro stated that the SPP, backed by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and implemented by the British Standards Institution (BSI) in partnership with Nigeria’s National Quality Council (NQC), aims to establish a robust quality infrastructure focused on improving standardisation, accreditation, conformity assessment, inspection, testing and metrology services to boost the UK/Nigeria’s export capacity, attract investment, and enhance trade efficiency that is aligned with global standards and best practices in Nigeria.
Comments are closed.