Experts raise concerns about Nigeria’s dependence on imported laboratory equipment

At the fifth annual Public Analysts Conference organized by the Society of Testing Laboratory Analysts of Nigeria (SoTLAN), experts raised the alarm about Nigeria’s continued dependence on imported laboratory equipment and the urgent need to improve laboratory analytics and quality assurance.

The three-day event, themed “Optimizing Laboratory Analytics and Quality Assurance in Today’s Economy,” brought together professionals to discuss the most pressing issues facing the country’s laboratory sector.

“In particular, the withdrawal of government funding for professional agencies and the dissolution of the Board of Directors have exacerbated the challenges facing the sector,” said Olugbenga Ogunmoyela, President of SoTLAN and Chairman of the IPAN Council of the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria, in his welcoming address, while stressing the significant hurdles faced by the industry over the past year.

He explained that the government’s directive and the cancellation of fuel and electricity subsidies prevented the usual interim presidential committee from carrying out its normal work.

IPAN is a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Health established by the IPAN Act CAP.I16 LFN 2004 to train, examine, register and regulate the practice of public analysts while SoTLAN is the professional arm and non-governmental association of public analysts in Nigeria.

However, it had previously been reported that the association had requested the federal government to reconstitute the IPAN Board of Directors and to immediately pay the arrears of salaries of the affected employees.

In June 2023, President Bola Tinubu dissolved the boards of all federal government parastatals, agencies, institutions and state-owned enterprises.

However, in January 2024, Tinubu restored funding to 13 national health authorities, including IPAN, which had initially been cut in the 2024 budget.

Ogunmoyela explained that despite these challenges, the association has managed to navigate the uncertainties, adding that the situation necessitates clearer future planning in the event of such an event.

“The support of the government and the energetic financial sector will break the suffocating yoke of underinvestment in the analytical laboratory sector across the country.

“We are committed to lobbying government to provide the multi-billion dollar support we need to revive our professional sector in the interest of the environment and the health of the nation. As we have always stressed, the long-term benefits to the nation in terms of self-reliance and ending capital flight in the sector will be enormous,” Ogunmoyela said.

Mary-Anne Adeeko, a fellow of the institute and former secretary of the International Association of Independent Laboratories, also said in her speech that there is a need for a trustworthy laboratory report using standardized tests to determine the chemical and physical properties of materials and products for human consumption and the environment.

“The trusted laboratory report gives customers confidence and reliability. The trusted laboratory report permanently breaks through the technical barriers of international trade. It maintains the sustainable export level and makes the testing business profitable with a high return on investment,” she explains.

In his further presentation, Adeeko emphasized the importance of analytics, explaining that it helps companies operate more efficiently, maximize their profits, and make more strategic and targeted decisions.

The quality assurance and quality system management expert also pointed out that although the purchase, installation and maintenance of laboratory equipment and its maintenance are expensive, in the long run they increase the credibility of the laboratory and contribute to the company’s growth.

Adeeko mentioned that in addition to the challenges of low return on investment, high cost of analysis and high equipment and maintenance costs, laboratories in Nigeria also lack government support.

In their view, this resulted in private laboratories being unable to compete with their cutting-edge technology and meet the quality control requirements of foreign customers.

“To implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we need to update the material quality policy to facilitate and support standard methodology and accreditation. All of these are prerequisites for the credibility of the scientific parameters, as they relate to the system that generates the scientific parameters.

“The National Quality Assurance Infrastructure was set up with UN funding to review the existing quality infrastructure and then it was a new proposal for the National Quality Assurance Institute. It was a new proposal to address the national quality issues. I am happy to say that we were part of this national quality infrastructure process,” she said.

Adeeko also urged the analysts to study and understand the provisions of the Nigerian Quality Policy and implement the requirements for efficiency and effectiveness.

The expert for quality assurance and quality system management also encouraged the participants to think internationally and act nationally.

She called for training young analysts in laboratory technology, assembly and maintenance to reduce the cost of laboratory maintenance and, in the long run, to make the laboratory a technical training institute that creates jobs and leads to increased revenue.

Adeeko urged SoTLAN to collaborate with stakeholders, equipment suppliers and laboratories to increase team activities.

During the conference, Ogunmoyela stressed the need for self-reliance in laboratory analytics. “We need to start thinking inwards and curb capital flight,” he said. He also stressed the importance of developing local skills and securing a solid future for young analysts in Nigeria.

The event recognized international holidays such as World Laboratory Day, World Environment Day and World Food Safety Day and acknowledged the critical role of public policy analysts in addressing environmental and food safety challenges. During the conference, 16 new Fellows were inducted in recognition of their significant contributions to the profession.

Despite the economic challenges, Ogunmoyela expressed his gratitude for the support of members and corporate sponsors, reaffirming the collective efforts needed to advance the Nigerian laboratory sector.