FG orders NAFDAC to reduce registration period to 60 days

The Federal Government of Nigerian  has ordered the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to reduce products’ registration period.

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, gave the directive in Abuja on Tuesday at the NAFDAC stakeholders’ consultative forum on the ease of doing business in Nigeria.

Osinbajo, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Fola Johnson, said “Sixty days is possible. Collectively let us put our house in order. Let MSMEs, NAFDAC and the Federal Government, target 60 days.

“The shorter the time for registration, the better for MSMEs, because just to collect a registration numbers should not take months, when will you start the business? When will you start making profits?

“Any MSME that employs a person today is doing the Federal Government a huge favour. What the Federal Government is supposed to do is create an enabling environment.

“It is the private sector that drives the economy, so we must encourage every activity that drives that space”.

Acting Director-General of NAFDAC, Mr. Ademola Mogbojuri, said the agency had reduced its registration period from a maximum of one year to a minimum of 90 days.

Mogbojuri, who was represented by Mr. Abubakar Jimoh, Director, Strategy, said the agency had recently slashed by 50 per cent the cost of registration for companies with less than five employees.

He said: “In order to encourage MSMEs, NAFDAC has guaranteed a 50 per cent reduction in cost of registration of products for companies with five or less than five employees.

“We’ve also reduced the registration time to 90 days and established a small business support desk to guide small business through the registration process and serve as enquiry point for small businesses on regulatory issues.

“NAFDAC has set up a system for the electronic submission of documents to line directorates to reduce the time taken for hard copies to get to such directorates in Lagos”.

Magbojuri assured that NAFDAC would ensure that bread registration is done within 30 days while the fees charged for registration of locally manufactured products are lower than those charged for imported products.