Amid lingering crisis generated by importation of adulterated fuel, the President of the Society of Testing Laboratory Analysts of Nigeria (SoTLAN), Prof. Olugbenga Ogunmoyela, has warned that the country will continue to put the health of its citizens in jeopardy until it starts involving local laboratory analysts in products testing.
Addressing a press conference in Lagos, Ogunmoyela, who warned that adulterated fuel increases the risk of cancer in Nigerians, urged the government to stop putting the fate of the nation in the hands of foreign labs that are not superior to many of Nigeria’s lSO 17025 accredited local laboratories.
“It is clear that the nation has a challenge of scarcity of foreign exchange and has demonstrated an avowed commitment to look inwards. Yet, for many years, it has persistently chosen to patronise mainly foreign laboratory companies in the analysis and certification of imported petroleum products into the country. It is said that the government agency in charge has come out to claim that the imported fuel had high methanol content, which was somehow not detected during testing, because this is not in the normal testing protocol, before being released to depots for lifting.
“As we have noted, as far as laboratory testing or analysis is concerned, the institution recognised by law in Nigeria to regulate and register analytical laboratories owned by members and non-members alike, is the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria established under the IPAN ACT CAP 116 LFN 2004
“Over 1,200 professional members of this institute belong to our association known as the Society of Testing Laboratory Analysts of Nigeria. Yet, because of financial incapacitation, we have fewer than 50 registered laboratories in Nigeria that have achieved international accreditation due to lack of support, compared to over 500 such laboratories in South Africa.
“It is, therefore, our opinion that, as key stakeholders of high integrity, we should be involved in all forms of laboratory testing of products in Nigeria. This unfortunate experience, therefore, presents an opportunity for us to re-examine our present policy and look inwards to help strengthen the capacity of our local analytical laboratories by patronising them, building capacity where necessary, and encouraging the growth of the sector, rather than continued dependence on foreign firms. As we now know, they are not in any way superior to many of our ISO 17025 accredited local laboratories.”