The Comptroller General (CG) of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) warmly received the Executive Director/CEO of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mrs Nonye Ayeni, and her delegation on the 20th of August, 2024.
In her opening remarks, the Executive Director thanked the CG NAQS for the warm reception and for the support the Council has enjoyed from NAQS. The Executive Secretary stated that the visit was to intimate and solicit the support of NAQS towards the WTO/STDF 845 project.
The WTO/STDF 845 project is for Sesame seed and Cowpea, launched by the Director-General of WTO, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala on the 13th of March 2024. The Executive Director also stated that the purpose of the meeting was to introduce the National Project Coordinator of the WTO/STDF 845 project, Okorogu Maureen Obianuju to the CG.
In his response, the CG NAQS, Dr Isegbe expressed the readiness of the agency to collaborate with NEPC to facilitate non-oil export and to work towards the success of the WTO/STDF 845 project. He seized the opportunity to inform the Executive Director of some unhealthy and indecent practices amongst stakeholders in the agro-export value chain impeding international trade of non-oil export. This he said, includes the use of toxic chemicals and non-adherence to sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
Following her introduction to the CG NAQS, the WTO/STDF 845 National Project Coordinator, Mrs Okorogu Maureen Obianuju expressed her hope to get the best of cooperation from the NAQS considering the pivotal role the agency has to play towards the actualization of the project.