President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday inaugurated the first African Quality Assurance Centre in Sagamu, with assurance to implement the Nigerian Quality Infrastructure Policy aimed at ensuring acceptability of Nigerian products in the global market.
Speaking at the occasion, Buhari said the centre would encourage such policy and give confidence to producers and manufacturers that raw materials from Nigeria, are of the highest acceptable quality.
He noted that the centre would help in job creation, address unemployment challenges and put Nigeria’s industrialisation in sound footing.
“It will improve domestic consumption as our priority is to protect the lives and wellbeing of our people by ensuring the quality of what they consume. This is in line with the Federal Government policy of growing what we eat and eating what we grow.
“Quality assurance places us on the right footing as we continue bro drive Nigeria’s industrialization,” he said.
In his remarks, Gov. Dapo Abiodun said the opening of the centre is a significant representation of government’s commitment to the diversify the nation’s economy from the over reliance on crude oil.
The governor lamented that intra-Africa trade currently stands at around 14 per cent compared to approximately 60 per cent, 40 per cent, 30 per cent intrastate-regional trade that has been achieved by Europe, North America and ASEAN respectively,
He added.that the commissioning of the centre was another symbolic representation of the commitment of Afreximbank as a partner in the development agenda in Ogun.
“We are sincerely proud to be part of this success story. Our vision remains to give Ogun state focused and qualitative governance and to create the enabling environment for a public- private sector partnership, which is fundamental to the creation of an enduring economic development and individual prosperity of the people of Ogun.
“Bringing this centre to Ogun state is a clear testament that we are not just the preferred destination of choice in Nigeria and the entire Sub Saharan Africa but as the first choice in export oriented industrial concerns,” he said.
The President, African Export and Import Bank (AFRIXEMBANK), Prof. Benedict Oramah, contended that standard and poor infrastructure have been a constraint of African export.
He stressed that the aim of the bank is to facilitate the standard of African export through the establishment of quality assurance centres across the continent of Africa.
While noting that the centre was equipped with cutting edge technology, Oramah, said the centre would raise the bar by testing member countries export products and ensure they meet acceptable standard thus improve the continent competitiveness in the global market.
