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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Laboratory of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has been enlisted by the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to test all chemicals associated with weapons of destruction, both biological and chemical.
A statement from NAFDAC indicated that experts from OPCW disclosed the development when they visited NAFDAC’s central laboratory in Oshodi, Lagos, for inspection and assessment of facilities to be deployed for the global assignment.
Leader of the team, Dr. Roman Warchol, expressed satisfaction with the facilities provided by NAFDAC, saying they were comparable to whatever could be found anywhere in the advanced economy of the world.
He said they came to Nigeria to assess NAFDAC’s laboratory and see the level of competency, the equipment available for the possible designation of the laboratory, and was happy and satisfied with what they saw.
Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in her remarks, said: “We have been on this for about four years now. Except for the COVID-19 period which really affected activities. 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.”
The NAFDAC boss said she was excited because experts from Hague and Helsinki were overwhelmed with the agency’s facilities and readiness, adding that they were highly impressed by the competency of NAFDAC staff and the level of understanding.
“We did all our presentations, and there was little or no question from the delegates. All we are now discussing is level of improvement, areas that we should improve to make it bigger. They 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.”
She said in Africa, there were only two sites, Nigeria and Kenya, that are being considered.
