The Nation Newspaper

Category: Industry

  • RMRDC: no going back on kenaf value chain devt

    The Federal Government will continue to encourage kenaf production in view of its importance in the production of jute bags for the commodity export business, the Director-General, Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Dr. Hussain Dikko Ibrahim, has said.

    Dikko gave the commitment in Abuja while distributing improved kenaf seeds for this year’s farming season to farmers across the country, under the auspices of Kenaf Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (KEPPMAN).

    Kenaf (hibiscus cannibinus) is an annual herbaceous crop that is rated as the third largest fibre crop of economic importance after cotton and jute. It can be used, in addition to jute bags, for pulp and paper, wood, plastic bio-composite materials, industrial oil/chemical adsorbents, and animal feeds, among others.

    Represented by the council’s Head of Agriculture and Agro-Allied Department, Dr. G. G. Awolehin, he said the rejection of Nigerian export commodities due to polypropylene contamination at international markets was worrisome.

    He said the current annual jute sacks requirement in the country has been estimated at about 10 million pieces, all imported, costing the country about N5.50 billion in foreign exchnage (forex). He  added that the situation was becoming very pathetic as a number of commodity exporters have resorted to importing second hand jute sacks from Ghana.

    “This contributed to the further rejection of many agro exports from Nigeria by the importing countries,’’ he said.

    Dikko said the seed distribution was in line with the council’s long-term programme titled “Boosting the Supply of Agricultural Raw Materials for Industrial Use”, aimed at increasing the production of agro raw materials with the use of improved seeds and seedlings, to bridge the gap between raw materials demand and supply in the industrial sector.

    He said over four tons of improved kenaf seeds were realised from similar improved seeds given to farmers in Ogun, Kebbi, Plateau and Adamawa states last year, adding that it would be redistributed among kenaf farmers in other states.

    Earlier, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, represented by the ministry’s Director of Plantation Establishment, Mr Quadri Olalekan,  said the promotion of kenaf production in Nigeria was in line with the government’s agenda of expanding the production of agricultural commodities and assured of adequate funding.

    National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) Director, Mr Towolabi Owolabi, said the availability and accessibility of quality seeds was one of the major obstacles that Nigerian farmers faced and called on KEPPMAN to help in training farmers on seed handling techniques and sustaining the quality of kenaf seeds in the country.

    Responding, the National Secretary, Kenaf Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (KEPPMAN), Mr. KunleAmosun, commended the council for the effort and assured that the seeds would be effectively used to promote the production of Kenaf seeds and fibre for industrial use.

  • NACC seeks better tariffs

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) is pushing for favourable tariffs.

    Its President, Toyin Akomolafe, said there was the need to create better trade deals for the country to reduce dependency on oil as well as increasing engagement with China.

    He noted that in Nigeria, there is an increase in Chinese investments in infrastructure, and the recent currency swap.

    Akomolafe, who spoke during the chmber’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, observed that the tariffs instituted by the United States President on trade, would have a rippling effect across the globe, especially the tariffs imposed on China.

    He added that a trade war between these economic giants would push African nations, including Nigeria, into harsh financial climates.

    He said: “In Nigeria, we import almost everything from China, if the Chinese have to pay more to trade with the US, those extra expenses would be passed on to Nigerian consumers which would result in imported inflation.”

    According to the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, the global trade volumes would drop by six percent and global real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would fall by 1.4percent, if the US government insists on a 10 percent negotiating position across the board tariff on most things entering the country instead of the average level of two percent

    Akomolafe noted that though influencing trade laws and policy would not be easy, the chamber was working out modalities that would overcome any challenges.

    It is time, he said, to collaborate and draw up ideas that could persuade our trade companions in the US.

    He said Nigeria had been fairly active in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) implementation, seeking more action.

    He expressed the commitment to ensuring that non-oil commodities were exported through AGOA.

    ‘’We are committed to making NACC become the key institution for AGOA and partnering leaders and leading institutions that will move us into a more economical sound future,’’ he said.

    He stressed the need to work together to build capacity for expertise, obtain more sources for financing, providing better networking opportunities and paths to international trade along with expanding our footprint in Nigeria and America.

    He said the chamber would participate in all economic fora and partner leaders and leading organisations that could drive the economy of the country a successful future adding the chamber is committed to providing more networking and business opportunities. This, he believed, would, in effect, raise the country’s profile among American businesses in Nigeria and overseas.

    NACC Membership Committee Chairman, Olufemi Adesanya, said the chamber assists members.

    He said the chamber had created sectoral groups where members could engage, share ideas and knowledge, partner and collaborate. These included the property and construction sector, oil and gas services sector, financial services sector, professional services sector, and the agribusiness services sector.

    According to him, while the property and construction sector is already in place, others would be inaugurated.

     

     

     

     

  • Unemployment: Push to reverse jobless growth

    Nigeria’s population is projected to hit 410 million by 2050. This will rank her as the world’s third largest populated country. Experts say there is no better time than now for federal and state governments, in collaboration with the private sector, to prioritise implementation of policies that will drive productivity growth in agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors. According to them, doing so while also investing in human capital development and infrastructure can reverse Nigeria’s paradox of jobless growth. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    Nigeria boasts strong economic growth, which averaged 6.5 per cent between 2000 and 2017. Ordinarily, this should translate into a significant improvement in job creation and overall standard of living of Nigerians. Sadly, this hasn’t been the case. Despite the widely reported real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, unemployment figures remain high and poverty literarily walks on four toes.

    For instance, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) put Nigeria’s unemployment and underemployment rates at all-time high of 18.8 per cent and 21.2 per cent, respectively, for third quarter 2017. The NBS specifically said between January and September 2017 alone, 4.07 million Nigerians were jobless, bringing the number of unemployed people to 15.9 million.

    What is responsible for the rising unemployment and underemployment rates, despite recording high growth in recent years. Why have poverty and its associated social disorder and growing insecurity refused to abate? Were policies targeted at job creation and caging the unemployment monster not properly thought through?

    More importantly, what are the options available to sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest economy and most populous country to reverse the paradox that exists between her GDP growth rate and rising unemployment?

    A report by multinational professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) attributed the high unemployment rate to slow pace of job creation, noting that, in recent years, job creation and the quality of jobs have been marred by a slowdown in economic growth and the recession.

    PwC in the report titled “Structural Transformation and Jobless Growth in Nigeria” stated, for instance, that the pace of job creation in Nigeria has been considerably weaker than labour force growth, pointing out that between 2010 and 2017, average job growth was 1.6 per cent, weaker than labour force growth of 3.9 per cent.

    To reduce the unemployment rate, the report, obtained by The Nation, said an estimated employment growth of at least 4 to 5 per cent was required. “This would translate to at least three (3) million new jobs annually,” it added.

    PwC’s concern over raising the nation’s employment growth rate stemmed from the projection that the population will rise from an estimated 206 million in 2018 to 410 million by 2050.

    With a projection that this will make Nigeria the third largest populated country globally, PwC was emphatic that the implementation of policies that would deliver inclusive growth and engender a productive labour force has never been this imperative.

     

    Informal sector is key to job creation

    The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the Federal Government’s medium-term Economic Plan, which was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in April 2017, charts a course for the economy over the next four years (2017–2020).

    Its vision was to restore economic growth, invest in Nigerians, and build a globally competitive economy. And as part of investing in Nigerians, the ERGP set an ambitious target of creating 3.7 million jobs per annum over the four-year period (2017–2020), culminating in 15 million jobs by 2020.

    However, achieving this target and tackling Nigeria’s growing job market crisis is no tea party. For PwC, the informal sector holds promises of creating more high productivity jobs capable of boosting incomes and reducing poverty.

    It noted, for instance, that the informal economy, which is usually associated with weak productivity growth, is large in Nigeria and accounted for an estimated 41.4 per cent of GDP and 68.0 per cent of jobs created between 2013 and 2016.

    The report said based on trends observed in recent years, the informal sector continues to absorb the largest proportion of Nigeria’s workforce, accounting for 73.7 per cent of jobs created in 2016, up from 54.0 per cent in 2013.

    “This sharp increase in new jobs created in the informal sector was associated with a decline in the share of jobs created in the formal and public sectors from 37 .2 per cent and 8.8 per cent in 2013 to 29.9 per cent and 0.0 per cent, respectively, in 2016.

    According to the NBS, informal jobs are jobs generated by individuals or businesses employing less than 10 persons or businesses operating with little or no structure.

     

    Structural reforms also

    The PwC report, which was authored by Partner & Chief Economist Dr. Andrew S Nevin, Economist Adedayo Akinbiyi, and Junior Economist Dayo Bakare, said reducing unemployment through services-led growth was a critical success factor.

    They, however, noted that there is need for structural reforms to lay the foundation for long-term sustainable growth in the broader economy and the services sector.

    Such reforms, according to the experts, include business environment reforms, which are necessary to improve the ease of doing business, sustain macroeconomic stability, and attract investments.

    They also specifically recommended improving human capital development, providing enabling infrastructure and intellectual property rights, noting that they are necessary ingredients to drive growth and productivity in the services sector.

     

    Human capital

    development is imperative

    According to experts, the services sector relies on high-skilled workers to drive high productivity sectors which include Information and Communications Technology (ICT), medical services and other professional services.

    Similarly, traditional services sectors such as transportation, accommodation and food services, rely on semi-skilled labour such as cooks, technicians, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, amongst others.

    “Improving human capital for these categories of workers would require increased spending on vocational centres, apprenticeships and technical colleges to improve skills,” PwC said, noting that in Nigeria, firms cite the low quality human capital as a key constraint to doing business.

    The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Ahmed Kuru, also emphasised the need to invest in human capital, noting that this will raise workers’ productivity due to upgraded skills and better education.

    Kuru, who was Guest Speaker at the 2018 Institute of Directors (IoD) Fellows’ Luncheon, which held in Lagos, in a paper titled “Determinants of Growth in Transition Economies…,” also said it will empower workers with capacity for new ideas and innovations.

    He said countries that have made sustained progress invested heavily in enhancing the stock of skills of its labour force by prioritizing early childhood quality education, training and provision of health care.

    “The concept of human capital is even more important for labour-surplus countries. These countries are naturally endowed with surplus labour due to high birth rate. For example, the surplus labour in China, India, Brazil and Nigeria far outweigh the physical capital such as machinery, plant and equipment.

    “This human resource can be transformed into human capital via education, training, and improved health care delivery,” Karu said.

    Besides, human capital, he further said, “Provides the resources for the development and deepening of other areas of intellectual assets such as research/development, and training. It is interesting to note how China transformed its raw labour into human capital.

    To develop adequate human capital, PwC said there needs to be a ramp up in investment in education, through increased funding for schools, and public research and technological institutes.

    It, however, stated that given the poor state of public finances, where spending on education was allotted only 7.0 per cent of the federal budget in 2018, unlocking investment in education would require increased participation from the private sector.

    Beyond investing in education, the Director General, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Segun Oshinowo, said time has come to completely overhaul the programmes and courses being run by Nigerian universities if the country must tackle the unemployment menace head on.

    While pointing out that this will help bring the universities up to speed with current realities in the labour market and the economy generally, Oshinowo observed that courses being offered in Nigerian universities were designed over a century ago by the colonial masters and are therefore, obsolete.

    The NECA DG, who spoke at a recent event in Lagos, also advocated for a change of mindset by youths from white collar jobs to vocational and skill-oriented jobs relevant to Nigeria of today.

     

    Infrastructure is game changer

    According to World Bank, telecommunications infrastructure and reliable power supply are the most crucial for services-led growth, aside quality human capital.

    However, Nigeria suffers chronic deficits in these areas. Telecommunications infrastructure is weak. As a result, broadband penetration is low at 21 per cent, lower than 58.6 per cent and 52.6 per cent in South Africa and Egypt, respectively.

    Similarly, there is a widening power infrastructure deficit, given that Nigeria’s installed power generating capacity is low at 10 gigawatts (GW), when compared with over 39 GW and 47 GW in Egypt and South Africa, respectively.

    “To cover the shortfall in infrastructure, significant private investments in utility infrastructure such as telecommunications, power and transport is required.

    “To attract investment, policies have to be consistent, while regulations need to allow market-reflective pricing, which guarantees cost recovery and contract enforcement between the private and public sector. These reforms are necessary to boost competition and promote efficiencies,” the PwC report said.

    The consensus of development experts particularly those in the labour market space is that the private sector, in collaboration with the public sector (federal, state and local governments), must prioritize investment in infrastructure and human capital development.

    They also recommend plugging the productivity gap in the agric sector to enhance value chain development and boost the growth momentum in the sector.

     

  • AfCFTA to incorporate Africa’s $2.5b GDP

    An agency of the African Union (AU), the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), says it will enhance the expertise of Africa’s private and public sectors to benefit from the proposed African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

    ACBF Executive Secretary, Prof Emmanuel Nnadozie, spoke at the yearly meeting of Africa Export-Import Bank in Abuja.

    According to him, the AfCFTA is expected to create a market incorporating Africa’s 1.2 billion people with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.5 billion.

    “Attention has to be paid to its ability to take advantage of this opportunity,” Nnadozie said.

    On the readiness of the public sector, he said there was need for trade and industry ministries across Africa including relevant government agencies to revamp their capacities.

    Nnadozie, however, said it was doubtful if many countries would be ready to take advantage of the deal despite the obvious benefits

    According to him, the ACBF would help African countries carry out a readiness assessment that will identify the capacity needs in the countries and then design a plan to build those capacities.

    So far, 44 countries have signed the protocol while six countries have ratified it.

     

  • Auto Policy: Breathing freshness into the economy

    Five years after the repackaging of the national automotive policy, stakeholders have expressed satisfaction with the policy. They say it is yielding positive results and attracting investors globally, OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports.

    Globally, the automotive industry plays strategic and catalytic roles in economic development. This is in terms of its capacity to employ a high number of manpower directly, and also the multiplier effect of cottage industries that spring up as a result of the assembly plant.

    Therefore, when the Federal Government repackaged the automotive policy, stakeholders were upbeat about its ripple effect on the economy. For them, the policy, if properly implemented, will give birth to several small-scale industries, which economists refer to as the wheels on which an economy run.

    The objective of the national automotive policy is to restore assembly and develop local content; thus, creating employment, acquiring technology and reducing pressure on the country’s balance of payment. This thinking may be right given that when the country’s automobile industry was vibrant, several industries sprang up across the country in the glory days of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN), in Kaduna State

    For instance, Exide Batteries, in Ibadan, Oyo State, supplied PAN batteries for vehicles manufactured at its Kaduna plant. Similarly, the upholstery works in its vehicles were manufactured by a local firm, while Dunlop Nigeria Limited supplied tyres.

    Indeed, efforts to attain an effective automotive sector have been continuous and as the policy continued to evolve over the years with necessary tweaking and remarkable achievements have made.

    Currently, hitherto comatose assembly plants are breathing fresh breathe. As at the last count, over 14 assembly plants, such as PAN, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. (IVM); Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company (ANAMMCO) and Leyland-Busan, have started assembling new products since 2014. New plants are also coming to live. This, stakeholders say, is a remarkable feat considering that before this policy, three out of the five assembly plants established in the 1970s had become moribund.

    Under the policy, 29 of the 54 licensed assembly plants as at last February are now operational. With a total installed capacity of 419,190 units, actual production of 8,628 units have been achieved so far.

    A cursory look at the assembly plants presents a solid foundation of hope for the industry. For instance, Dangote Sinotruck West Africa Limited, a partnership between Dangote Group and Sinotruck, comes with an investment portfolio of $100 million for truck assembly. The partnership will assemble and produce full range of commercial vehicles covering heavy duty truck, medium truck, light truck and other semi-trailers. With this, the firm aims to meet an expected current demand of these segments of automobiles required for logistics, construction, food & beverage industries in the country. The company has installed capacity to assemble and produce 10,000 trucks annually and this alone will create 3, 000 jobs across Nigeria.

    The turnaround story of ANAMMCO is another positive for the automotive policy. The company downsized its staff in 2011 due to the unfavourable business conditions. The downturn in business also affected employment down the value chain. However with the policy, ANAMMCO recalled 200 of the staff that had been laid off. The company is currently waxing stronger and has received several proposals from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) interested in establishing local assembly presence.

    And the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okey Enelamah, takes delight in all of these. “The achievements made so far confirm the high potentials of the policy to grow the automotive sector,” an obviously elated minister said.

    The policy has also generated interest outside the country. Recently, a delegation of international automotive investors, comprising original equipment manufacturers and other stakeholders visited the country. Among others, they sought to gain insight into the opening business opportunities and investment environment in the Nigerian automotive sector;  assist in the shaping of national and state policy to support industry overall and domesticated manufacturing for the automotive sector;  gain insight into the automotive sector & potential for enhanced manufacturing in Nigeria; build relationships and networks with key Government and private sector figures; and to  deepen the structured business links and investment between the private sectors of Nigeria and South Africa.

    Enelamah, while receiving the delegation said: “We are excited by the role the automotive industry plays in the strategic and catalytic economic development of countries and we are committed to developing the sector speedily to facilitate the economic diversification of the country.”

     

  • China’s demand for Nigeria’s cassava to boost output

    Nigeria’s cassava output is set to increase as a result of rising demand by China for cassava products used in food and pharmaceuticals and as a bio-fuel, according to the Nigerian Cassava Growers Association (NCGA).

    The NCGA plans to increase output to 200 million tons yearly on five million hectares (12 million acres) by the end of 2021, using a new growing technique and a crop variety that yields an average of 40 tons a hectare, its President Segun Adewunmi has said.

    The variety now commonly used produces about 30 tons per hectare.

    “Chinese firms are demanding  Nigeria’s cassava pellets and we are positioning ourselves to meet this demand in the next three years. For instance, we just got an import request from China and other countries for 10 million tons of cassava chips.” Adewunmi told an international medium, Bloomberg.

    Nigeria is the world’s leading grower of cassava, producing 57.6 million metric tons in 2017, exporting about 3.2 million tons yearly and earning a record $136 million in 2013.

    About 60 percent of global exports of cassava products goes to China, after it overtook the European Union (EU) in 2007 as the leading importer of the source of animal feed, ethanol, industrial starch and syrup used in sweeteners, according to the World Bank.

    Oil-dependent Nigeria is seeking to diversify its sources of export income after a plunge in crude prices from 2014 triggered the country’s worst economic contraction in 25 years in 2016. About 70 percent of global cassava exports are in the form of pellets and chips used for animal feed, while the rest are shipped as starch, syrup for food and pharmaceuticals. Japan,

    Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the U.S. and the Philippines are among the major importers of cassava products including industrial starch and flour.

    In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, cassava is produced mainly by small-holder farmers using rudimentary implements, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

  • How to woo consumers, by expert

    An expert in Experiential Marketing, Mr.  Gbenga Afolabi, has called on agencies in the industry to enhance consumers demand.

    Afolabi, who made this call recently in Lagos, advised agencies to stop complaining of shrinkage in budget but, to look inwards and implore factors that would stimulate consumers demand for their clients.

    He pointed out that one of the characteristics of a recessed economy is decline in the demand for goods and services, adding that stimulating customers demand bring about amazing returns and high customers’ patronage.

    He noted that agencies that are on top of their games would have their clients products experience boom during an unbridled recessionary period like Nigeria experienced in 2016, stressing that GDM Direct was a typical example, as it grew its billings by 27 percent in that year.

    Afolabi said; “Recession for an average man on the streets is not GDP, it is the fact that the amount of money that they have as disposable income has shrunk, things have become more expensive, there are things that I want to buy, I cannot afford, so I am forced to make rational choices, low patronage, yet cost of materials are going up, so the only way brands need to stay afloat and stay profitable is more patronage; I need more patronage yet the consumers want to spend less, that is the definition and the interplay of the forces of recession, not GDP for the consumer on the street.

    “This is the time where agencies play crucial role of stimulation, so if the characteristic factor of a recessed economy is a slump in consumer demand, a slump in product off-take, that is when agencies should experience a boom because they should deploy their expertise to ensure their clients have more patronage.”

    “An agency person does not understand the fact that my key role is to create stimulation of demand and patronage, then there is an issue. So with a recessed economy, demand is low, agencies have found themselves very relevant.”

    He noted that Nigeria’s pension industry has undergone several stages of transformation since the first legislative act on pension was introduced in 1951 (Pension Ordinance).

    He maintained that the most remarkable change in recent times is the Pension Reform Act of 2004 (PRA 2004) reviewed in July 2014 which introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and made it mandatory for employers and employees to contribute towards the retirement benefits of employees in both the public and private sectors.

     

     

     

  • Development Bank to offer N5b loans to 20,000 SMEs

    The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) is gearing up to provide N5 billion to 20,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), its Managing Director, Tony Okpanachi, has said.

    He said the lending started last November with loans to three of the largest microfinance banks in the country.

    “DBN management is taking this phenomenal responsibility very seriously and we are determined to ensure that serious entrepreneurs get the support they need to grow so that the positive impact is felt in their businesses and the economy as a whole,” he said.

    On repayment terms for DBN loans, Okpanachi said the institution will “provide funds for up to 10 years in terms of actual repayment period but when necessary we also provide a moratorium of up to 18 months”.

    He said DBN loan cuts across all sectors. “Our mandate and operations seek to achieve the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where financial inclusion ranks high, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and are in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government of Nigeria,” he said.

    He said another step taken by the bank was the recent shortlisting of seven banks for loan disbursement to entrepreneurs across the country who meet the requirements.

    The initial banks whose number is expected to be boosted by others, being processed include commercial banks – Wema, Ecobank, Sterling, Diamond, Fidelity, UBA, and FCMB.

  • ‘PFI yielding positive result’

    THE Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) has brought changes to agriculture, particularly the industry, Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) Executive Secretary (ES) Alhaji Ahmed Rabiu Kwajas has said.

    He noted that the government wanted fertiliser to be produced locally, noting that under PFI, 70 percent of its raw materials are sourced locally while the balance is imported.

    The ES further is optimistic that Nigeria should  export fertiliser in the next five years.

    In a statement in Kaduna, he said  the successful implementation of the PFI had made fertiliser available to farmers at an affordable price. While disclosing that FEPSAN has registered over 200  distributors, he however lamented that the spread of the distributors is not uniform.

    He gave the breakdown as follows: Northwest (106), Northcentral (51), Northeast (14), Southeast (19), Southwest (9) and Southsouth (3).

    According to him, the programme is for Nigerians and that all regions must be part of it.

    He expressed dismay that this initiative was not embraced by some agro dealers, especially those from the Southern zones.

    He called on agro entrepreneurs in the Southsouth, Southwest, Southeast and Northcentral geo-political zones to register as fertiliser distributors to benefit from the project.

    He said any problem related to registration should be reported to the association.

    He listed other benefits of a distributor to include buying the fertiliser from FEPSAN-registered blending plants close to them and selling to farmers at stipulated prices, expansion of market base by having retail outlets in localities around them, assured quantity and quality of the product they will buy, getting opportunities to attend trainings and other meetings organised by FEPSAN, its collaborators and partners children.

     

  • SON’s new quality certification for Dangote Cement

    Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has okayed Dangote Cement for its Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP).

    SON’s Director-General Osita Anthony Aboloma, who broke the news, also said a new revised standard for cement production had been released.

    The SON chief, represented by the Director of Standard Development, Mrs. Chinyere Egwuonwu, stated this during a facility tour of the Dangote Cement Plant, Obajana, Kogi State by top officials of the organisation.

    He noted that the new certification was an attestation to Dangote Cement’s quality products and its capacity to conduct in-process and in-house tests on its raw materials and finished products in conformity with relevant national standards.

    He said: “Through our conformity assessments, we have always visited your plants on routine quarterly factory inspections to ensure compliance of your products to relevant national standards. The outcome of these activities is the certification of your products to the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme.”

    Aboloma further disclosed that the revised standard for cement NIS 444-1:2018 had been approved by the Standard Council of Nigeria and is ready for implementation.

    Aboloma commended Dangote Cement for its active participation, especially in standard development, saying the SON appreciated the company’s effort and that the SON would be ready to partner  with the company’s management.

    He promised that the SON would continue to collaborate and provide the required support with Dangote Cement, other private sector operators and stakeholders to ensure availability of the relevant standards for both raw materials and finished products.

    Dangote Cement Group Managing Director (DMD), Joseph Makoju said the company has never taken the issue standard with levity and that is why it does not limit itself to the set standards, but usually exceeds standard both in quality of its products and environmental friendliness of its plants operations.

    He stated that standard could not be compromised if products from Nigeria are to compete favourably with foreign ones, noting that it was for the reason of high standard that Dangote Cement has been a leader in the countries where it is sold.

    The Dangote Cement GMD explained that its partnership with the SON as the regulating agency was borne out of the quest of Dangote Cement to keep to standard and that the organisation has invested heavily in machinery that ensure that its products’standard is second to none.

    He explained that the decision of the company to lead in the backward integration policy of the Federal Government has paid off and that it was for the role played by Dangote Cement that Nigeria is  self-sufficient in cement production and consumption.

     

    Agency’s training centre gets global recognition

    THE Standards Organisation of Nigeria Training Services (STS) Centre has received certification by the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) and the International Register of Certified Auditors (IRCA) as an Approved Training Partner (ATP).

    The SON Training Centre thus becomes the first and only CQI and IRCA approved Training Centre in Nigeria and the West Africa Region to offer certified courses by the two international institutions.

    A statement by the Director-General, Mr. Osita Aboloma in Abuja said the certification was a precursor to the international accreditation of the STS courses and part of the repositioning of the agency’s services for global competitiveness.

    Aboloma stated further that the certification was to ensure that appropriate systems and processes were in place and continuously maintained to provide effective and efficient management, development and operational delivery of CQI and IRCA certified courses to industry, government and non-governmental organisations as well as private individuals in Nigeria.

    He explained that the recognition was attained following provision of huge resources at the SON Ogba training facility, concerted efforts of the staff of the STS as well as a rigorous assessment to establish that CQI and IRCA Certification criteria were met.

    CQI and IRCA certified courses offer some of the best trainings for quality, environment, services and auditing professionals in the world, given its global recognition and approval by employers and industry. They also provide a boost to practitioners’ employment prospects, he said.

    The courses to be offered according to the statement will be at three levels, namely Foundation, Internal Auditor and Transition as well as Lead Auditor and Conversion courses.

    It stated further that part of the criteria for the maintenance of the STC certification are CQI collection of direct delegate feedback; analysis of the pass rates; annual self-assessment; desktop documents review and on-site validation visits.

    The statement concluded that trainees will be provided with the skills and knowledge to support application for CQI membership or IRCA certification as the case may be and  serve as an invaluable way of gaining professional recognition for their expertise and commitment.