IPAN seeks policies to boost research, development

The Institute of Public Analyst of Nigeria (IPAN) has called on the government to develop policies and regulations that can favour national development. They made the call during the 25th anniversary/ award night and induction of new members stressing that enhancing the profession of analysis is core to survival of mankind.

President, IPAN, Dr Dahiru Adamu highlighted the need to involve the professional body in public analyses because the government agencies do not have the capacity to carry out 100 per cent coverage in policing and regular testing.

“It is time to empower the public analyst so that he can regularly test products of producers at their own cost. If you see building collapsing, people bringing petroleum that is adulterated, you have dirty environment that causes infections.

We have solid minerals that we cannot determine their quality and the value in the market. All this is because there is no analysis.

If you are building they must test the strength of your rod, quality of your cement even the quality of water to be mixed has to be tested. All these things brings about quality structures that will last for a long time and serve the purpose of what they are intended,” Adamu said. He said the government is doing what it can though there are still room for improvement.

“They are always scared of everything, they always think of money. Everything is not money, there are policies, legislations and advocacies there is mobilisation all these to empower people,” he said.

Chairman House Committee on Health Services, Hon Chike Okafor, said the national assembly are not very involved in implementation of programs and policies.

“There is no direct intervention we can make our job is legislation. For instance the law says what you have power to appropriate money for you also have power to oversight. Our job stops at the point of making laws and also following up oversight. I raised a motion in the house which made funds available for revitalisation of Primary Healthcare Systems across the country,” he said.

Okafor stated that there has been significant budgetary increased in health, and also assured that the government is relentless in making healthcare accessible and affordable.

Similarly, Prof. Sunday Ajayi said no industry from any economy can move without the analyst they are in charge of quality control in laboratories and compliant to standards.

He continued: “They are very valuable to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) without them, these two government agencies cannot work successfully. The volume of work they have to do is enormous and they need the public analyst to support them in getting fruitful result.”

Ajayi added: “Everything coming to the country from wherever must be subjected to test and there is no way NAFDAC or SON can cope with that level of work if you don’t have public analyst to support. It is part of our national growth, we really have not started nation building in this country. In nation building we care about these things. So it is a broad thing, it affects our physic as a nation. There are too many things we are leaving to chance, once we start nation building in the real sense of it these things will fall in place.”