NAFDAC, SON Reduce Approval Time for MSMEs

• NAFDAC, SON Reduce Approval Time for MSMEs

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria have resolved to considerably reduce the period of granting approval to Medium Small and Micro Enterprises.

This is in consonance with the Federal Government’s resolve to improve the ease of doing business in the country as well as encourage MSMEs.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, disclosed this to State House correspondents after a meeting that stakeholders had with the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.

Enelamah said the management of NAFDAC had promised to give approval to MSMEs within 90 days, while the SON would do a similar thing in 60 days.

The minister said, “With specific reference to MSMEs, we have received commitments of some of our key agencies like NAFDAC that they will do everything possible to give any approval that they need to give within 90 days, which as you know is quite ambitious and is something that we welcome very much.

“We received similar assurances from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria that where they need to give certification or set standards or whatever approval that MSMEs will need from them, that they will work with 60 days’ timeframe from start to finish, including testing and all the other things.

“The important thing about this is the commitment of working with them to get the solutions or services from government speedily, transparently and readily.”

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, who also attended the meeting, said it was meant to review what had been done between when Osinbajo visited his state for the inauguration of the MSME Clinic in January and now.