The Society of Testing Laboratory Analysts of Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to reconstruct the regulatory body of the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria.

SoTLAN also emphasized the need for the government to promptly settle the salary arrears owed to the institute’s affected employees.

The Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria, operating under the Federal Ministry of Health, was formed by the IPAN Act CAP.I16 LFN 2004 to provide training, testing, registration, and oversight for public analysts and their professional activities.

In June 2023, President Bola Tinubu dissolved the governing councils of all Federal Government parastatals, agencies, institutions, and enterprises.

Despite this, in January, Tinubu reinstated funding for 13 national health regulators, including IPAN, that were initially excluded from the 2024 budget allocation.

Leading a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday ahead of the 6th annual conference for public analysts dubbed ‘COPA 2024,’ President of SoTLAN, Prof. Olugbenga Ogunmoyela, stressed the importance of reconstituting the governing body of IPAN to enable the institute to operate efficiently.

Ogunmoyela, a Food Science and Technology professor, highlighted IPAN’s significant efforts over the years in establishing comprehensive procedures for training and admitting new members, whether as students or fully-fledged professionals, based on their years of experience.

The public analyst stated, “I wish to make a passionate request for the reconstitution of the dissolved Governing Council of IPAN as the members duly elected by the IPAN Act had only completed one year of their tenure before the dissolution of the Council in June 2023.

“The future of the profession is threatened in the absence of the Council, especially with the need to refocus energy on how to be able to ultimately achieve self-funding in line with the expectations of this government.

“In the same vein, we implore the government to complete the good work it started with the restoration of funding of the regulatory professional bodies in the health sector by paying off the salary arrears of the affected staff without further delay.“

Ogunmoyela, also the former Chairman of the 6th Governing Council of IPAN, stressed that the health sector requires robust support to operate optimally, free from any disruptions or hindrances, in order to deliver effective services.

“Government must find another way around this frequent disruption in the governance of our institutions, as leaving them unsupervised for long periods leaves room for a deeper level of rot in the system”, he added.

He pointed out that IPAN, operating under the Federal Ministry of Health, has the legal responsibility to oversee and regulate the profession of analysis and laboratory practices in Nigeria, ensuring that they meet the required standards.

“We, therefore, use this opportunity to call on all those outside the wall to take the bold and honorable step of applying to become Registered Public Analysts, so that their professional services can be valid and authenticated”, he mentioned.

The don expressed worry that there were still many unlicensed practitioners in the society, “who in the eyes of the law we can call ‘quacks’, irrespective of their skills, knowledge or years of experience, whether or not they are academics in our tertiary institutions.”

He clarified that certificates of analysis issued by unlicensed practitioners are not legally valid and cannot be accepted as evidence in a court of law in the event of a dispute or incident, highlighting the importance of licensed professionals in ensuring the credibility and reliability of analysis results.

Commenting on the theme of this year’s conference, “Optimizing Laboratory Analytics and Quality Assurance in the Present Economy”, the food safety expert said the event will witness the Annual Laboratory Fair and Exhibition.

Others are the Annual Tertiary Students’ Competition and debate which will feature students from various universities and polytechnics discussing “The Role of Testing Laboratories in an Emerging Economy – Nigeria in Focus.”

The President of SoTLAN announced that the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will serve as the primary host for the three-day event, while Dr. Mary-Anne Adeeko, a Fellow of the Institute and former Secretary of the International Association of Independent Laboratories, will deliver the keynote address.