BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

The Organised Private Sector (OPS) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) have resolved to work together to make Nigerian products meet domestic, regional and international standards.

God’s market…

The resolution was reached during a meeting on ‘Quality Infrastructure’ in Lagos organised by UNIDO.

UNIDO Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Patrick Komawa, said that the private sector have recognised the problems and that they have shown  willingness to work with UNIDO, EU and the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, so as to increase the competitiveness of locally made products in the international.

Komawa said that they are going to use five mechanism and they are:Quality Policy, establishment of National Accreditation Body and National Metrology Institute for products certification which does not exist at the moment.

He said that the other mechanisms are to build the capacity of the Consumer Protection Council so that they can create awareness for the consumer to ask for quality products.

“It is one thing to produce quality product but if the consumers themselves does not know the difference between high quality product and low quality product they will not demand it.

“The consultation with the OPS within the national quality infrastructure project is an EU funded project implemented by UNIDO with the support of the FMITI and that the project has an objective to improve on the quality of product made in Nigeria so that those products can be sold internally and on the international market.

“The time frame for this project is four years and we have already started, we are now half a year into the programme and a lot of consultations have been taking place both within the public and private sector,

“You cannot improve on your GDP if we do not produce products in Nigeria and sell them on the international market. We also will not provide the needed job in this country if we are not able to manufacture products here and trade those products on the international or regional market.

“But for us to be able to trade we need to at least meet basic quality requirement, most of the product that are made in this country are rejected because they do not meet certain basic quality requirement,” he said.

Also, Executive Director, Business Development, Bank of Industry, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, added,“The markets are used to standards and there is no way you can export in particular, if you do not adhere to international standards or international best practice.