Nigeria recorded a breakthrough on Monday after the Nigerian National Accreditation System secured international recognition, allowing locally certified products to be accepted in over 140 countries—a development expected to sharply reduce export rejection and save the economy millions of dollars in foreign exchange.
With the new status, certificates issued by NINAS-accredited laboratories, inspection bodies, and certification bodies will now carry globally trusted marks from the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, International Accreditation Forum, and the African Accreditation Cooperation under its Mutual Recognition Arrangement.
Accoding to media report, only eight accreditation bodies have attained this level of global acceptance, placing Nigeria among the continent’s quality assurance leaders.
The recognition caps nearly 15 years of reforms under the National Quality Policy and elevates Nigeria’s National Quality Infrastructure to a globally aligned system capable of supporting exporters, MSMEs, and manufacturers seeking to access new markets.