The laboratory of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has been considered as one of the laboratories designated for Organisation Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) testing.
This is contained in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, by the agency resident media consultant, Mr Olusayo Akintola.
Akintola explained that the consideration of the laboratory meant that all chemicals that were associated with weapons of destruction, both biological and chemical, could be tested in the NAFDAC laboratory.
He said that Nigeria and Kenya were the only two countries in Africa chosen for the consideration by the global body.
He said that this came to the fore when experts from the OPCW visited the NAFDAC’s central laboratory in Oshodi, Lagos recently for inspection and assessment of facilities at the laboratory meant to be deployed for global assignment.
“Officials of OPCW based in the Hague came with some experts on laboratory assessment from the Finnish Institute of Verification of Chemical Weapons Convention, (FERIVIN) based in the University of Helsinki.
“Leader of the team, Dr. Roman Warchol, expressed satisfaction with the facilities provided by NAFDAC, saying they were okay and that the facilities could be comparable to any other advance economy of the world.”
Akintola quoted Warchol as saying that the “team came to Nigeria to assess the NAFDAC’s laboratory and see the level of competency, the equipment available for the possible designation of the laboratory.
‘’I am very happy and satisfied with what I have seen here.”
He also said that the NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, explained that the agency had been on its toes for years, adding that it was only during COVID-19 that the activities of the agency was slowed down.
“We are going on proficiency testing and we have gone from ‘Participation’ to ‘Very Good’ which is the highest level in the OPCW’s assessment.
‘’We did all our presentations. There was little or no questions, all we are now discussing is level of improvement, areas that we should improve to make it bigger.
“The experts were overwhelmed by the commitment of the agency and the National Authority for Chemical and Biological Weapons Convention (NAC&BWC) in Nigeria, and the Federal Government to the project,” he said.
According to him, we are not at war, yes, but we are not only to be testing for Nigeria.
“We are not only going to be testing the samples that will be used in Nigeria. In Africa, we are only two sites, Nigeria and Kenya that are being considered for this.
“We will cover the West Africa and some parts of Africa. Wherever there are skirmishes or the use of weapons, it might not only be war situation, but the tendency also that there could be an explosive somewhere.
“We could be invited to sample those things and then test for the possibility of using harmful chemicals that could be lethal to people,” she said.
The director-general explained that “the agency undertakes the monitoring and control of chemicals through the Directorates of Chemical Evaluation and Research, Narcotics and Control Substances, and Laboratory Services (Food and Chemicals).”
She said that this function was in line with the mandate of the agency to effectively cover regulations and control of industrial and laboratory chemical.
She recalled the visit of the then Chairman, National Authority for the Prohibition of Chemical and Biological Weapons Convention (NAC&BWC), along with his delegate to NAFDAC Central Laboratory, Oshodi to assess the facility on ground for OPCW testing of materials associated with Chemical Weapons.
She said that the NAFDAC in October 2018 participated in the CCACT-097, adding that the agency had now improved to the score of Very Good in the last participation CCACT-15 in October 2022.
She further disclosed that the Nigerian Federal Government through NAC&BWC provided an intervention fund in February 2020 valued at about N735 million to provide various equipment for the laboratory.
According to her, through internally generated revenue, more piece of equipment were added, and the agency has used her IGR to add more equipment.
She said that the agency would expand the laboratory space for OPCW in the new building to be constructed soon.
According to her, the assistance and contribution of the United Kingdom in assessing and improving the technical competence of laboratory in OPCW member States in Africa has helped since 2021 to improve the agency performance and technical capacity.
She added that NAFDAC staff had participated in the mentorship programme by Finnish Institute for Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention VERIFIN Helsinki, adding that this was done virtually until their physical training in February 2023.
According to her, these efforts helped to improve technical ability of staff and their reporting techniques due to importance of the OPCW project to the agency and the efforts of the international partners.
She said that the agency is highly indebted to the International Cooperation and Assistance Division, OPCW for facilitating the Memorandum of Understanding and implementing the assistance.
“OPCW national authority has been proactive at endorsing NAFDAC’s application for CCACT-testing. NAFDAC would strive to obtain the OPCW- Designated status in no distant future.”
NAN
