News
NBC Affirms Commitment to Product Quality, Integrity
The Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) has reiterated its commitment to product quality and integrity, pledging that this would remain the gold standard of its operations. Matthieu Seguin, Country General Manager, NBC, affirmed this while speaking during the company’s 2020 Stakeholders Forum themed ‘Product Quality and Integrity: Challenges and Opportunities’ which held virtually.
The event also featured key contributions from the Vice President, Quality, Safety and Environment, The Coca-Cola Company, Zoltan Syposs; Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Moji Adeyeye, and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera.
Seguin explained that quality remains the hallmark of the operations of the Coke System. “At NBC, we understand that only products and services valued and accepted by our customers and consumers will deliver help our business grow. We are committed to driving our business forward by continually improving quality control across the organisation, working together with Coca-Cola Nigeria, local authorities, partners, suppliers, customers and consumers,” he said.
Seguin disclosed that a survey NBC conducted earlier in the year showed that product quality and integrity ranked highest among the demands of its stakeholders, hence its decision to continue prioritising it.
“Our commitment to quality and integrity is from production to delivery. Everyone at NBC works hard to procure the finest ingredient, equipment and services from some of the industry’s most respected suppliers. We also complement this with our state of the art local production and distribution system,” Seguin said.
He added that the NBC achieves the highest product quality and integrity through compliance with local and international standards, certification of its systems, auditing and regular feedback from customers.
“We keep the line of communication open to our consumers for regular feedback which we get a lot, and this also guarantees the prompt resolution of complaints they may have. As the world evolves and consumers’ preferences change, we believe in continuous improvement of our system.”
Speaking in the same vein as Seguin, Syposs said that the Coca-Cola System comprising Coca-Cola and NBC is vigilant about product quality and integrity because research has showed that about 200 different types of diseases are spread through contaminated food and beverages, with about 420,000 deaths recorded annually from contaminated food, 125,000 of them among children under the age of five.
Syposs further noted that The Coca-Cola System was building a total beverage company and that it would continue to maintain the highest product quality to further earn consumers’ trust.
In his presentation, Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the CEO of FCCPC, stressed the importance of product quality and integrity, noting that it helps in sustaining brand loyalty.
He explained that the most basic obligations of manufacturers to consumers is to provide clarity of information, legitimacy of both direct and indirect claims, consistency of product delivery and consumer satisfaction derived from product usage.
Also speaking at the event, Professor Adeyeye who was represented by the Director, Food Safety and Nutrition, NAFDAC, Mr. Sherif Olagunju said it is important for businesses to look for ways of gaining and sustaining brand loyalty by increasingly building quality into their products and consequentially building customer trust.
Furthermore, he said, “to survive in severe competition brand loyalty is a powerful tool and there can be no loyalty without product quality and consumer satisfaction”.
They both commended NBC for its conscious self-regulation and internal audit, noting that this explains why consumers trust the company’s products.
The Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) and the Association of Corporate Communication and Marketing Professionals in Banks (ACAMB) have enjoined banks to further deepen and prioritize financial inclusion, women’s empowerment and sustained growth through strategic mandates and frameworks, aimed at closing the financial gap and empowering more small, and medium enterprise (MSME) owners.
Both organisations made this call during a courtesy visit to the newly invested 24th President and Chairman of Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr. Dele Alabi, Ph.D, FCIB, as part of plans to congratulate him on his investiture as well as seek a stronger alliance between both bodies.
The visit followed Alabi’s investiture where he unveiled his “IMPACT” Vision, themed “Consolidating Our Local Impact, Enhancing Our Global Relevance.”
The vision rests on six pillars: Inclusion across geographic, gender, and generational lines; Membership growth and quality; Professionalism and ethics; Accountability; Competencies and skills development; Technology, automation, and innovation. Other areas of shared interest, include women empowerment, financial inclusion and literacy, as well as MSME clinics, all of which are top on his agenda.
Alabi explained that under him, the institute will be prioritising financial inclusion and women empowerment, because of its realisation that women are often the primary financial managers and caregivers in families. Access to savings, micro-credit, and insurance acts as a safety net during crisis and allows them to significantly improve living conditions.
He added that CIBN would be happy to drive joint knowledge sharing and exchange sessions with CBN and ACAMB across various platforms. “Educating the public through public awareness programmes, with ACAMB as the rallying point, is central to what we do,” he noted.
ACAMB President, Jide Sipe, who led the delegation, spoke in unison with the CIBN president, as he noted that, closing the inbalances in financial access help economies grow faster, reduces inequality, and encourages greater civic participation by all.
Lagos State has become the first sub-national government in Nigeria to establish a comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Registry, a move aimed at strengthening climate governance, improving emissions accountability and accelerating the state’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
The Lagos State Greenhouse Gas Registry (LGHGR) was unveiled at the Central Business District, Alausa, Ikeja, at a ceremony attended by Prof. Akin Abayomi, commissioner for Health, members of the State Executive Council, representatives of the Federal Ministry of Environment, development partners, TPHG Technologies, the diplomatic and business communities, academics, civil society organisations and the media.
Describing the initiative as a landmark achievement in the state’s environmental sustainability drive, Dr. Babatunde Ajayi, general manager of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), said the Registry marks a defining moment in Lagos’ climate action journey and reflects Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to building a resilient, climate-smart and environmentally sustainable economy.
According to Ajayi, the digital platform will enable the state to accurately measure, monitor, report and verify greenhouse gas emissions across key sectors, providing credible data to guide environmental policies and climate interventions.
He said the Registry would strengthen evidence-based decision-making, improve transparency and accountability, support national and international climate reporting obligations, unlock carbon market opportunities and boost investor confidence in Lagos’ environmental initiatives.
Ajayi also commended TPHG Technologies for providing the technical expertise that made the pioneering project possible.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Abayomi described the Registry as a major milestone that positions Lagos at the forefront of climate governance and emissions accountability in both Nigeria and Africa.
He noted that climate change has evolved into a significant public health and governance challenge, stressing that access to reliable emissions data would enable the state to formulate evidence-based policies, attract climate financing, strengthen resilience and accelerate its transition to a low-carbon economy.
Providing insights into the technical framework of the project, Dr. Mofoluso Fagbeja, lead consultant and chief executive officer, TPHG Technologies, explained that the Registry was developed from the greenhouse gas inventory jointly undertaken by LASEPA and TPHG Technologies in 2022, using 2019 as the baseline year for emissions assessment.
He said the platform is designed to close critical emissions data gaps, particularly within the industrial sector, while supporting effective climate policy implementation, emissions management and sustainable development.
Fagbeja also disclosed that the greenhouse gas inventory estimated that poor air quality contributes to about 35,000 premature deaths annually in Lagos, underscoring the urgent need for stronger emissions control measures and cleaner environmental practices.
In a goodwill message, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, minister of Environment, represented by Mrs. Adenaike Olunimpe Oludunni, federal controller of Environment in Lagos, commended Lagos State for pioneering the initiative, describing it as a significant contribution to Nigeria’s climate commitments.
He said the Registry aligns with the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement and supports the Federal Government’s Energy Transition Plan, while reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to deeper collaboration with Lagos State on climate governance and environmental sustainability.
A recently released Henley Passport Index 2026, showed that Nigerian citizens can travel to at least 20 destinations outside the African continent where entry is allowed either visa-free, with a visa on arrival (VOA) at no extra cost, or via an e-visa.
This expanded access opens doors for Nigerian travellers to experience countries in the Caribbean, Asia, and beyond with greater ease.
Below is a comprehensive guide to countries outside Africa which Nigerian passport holders can visit without a traditional visa.
Visa-Free Countries outside Africa for Nigerian Passport Holders:
Barbados
Cambodia – Visa on arrival
Comoros Islands – Visa on arrival
Cook Islands
Dominica
Fiji
Haiti
Iran – Visa on arrival
Kiribati
Lebanon
Maldives – Visa on arrival
Micronesia
Montserrat
Niue – Visa on arrival
Palau Islands – Visa on arrival
Samoa – Visa on arrival
St. Kitts and Nevis
Timor-Leste – Visa on arrival
Tuvalu
Vanuatuul
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