Mirian Gom 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) has called on publicly owned medical laboratories across the country to pursue international accreditation, saying it is critical to improving the quality, reliability and credibility of laboratory services.
Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of MLSCN, Dr. Donald Ofili made the call on Wednesday in Abuja during the presentation of ISO 15189:2022 accreditation and re-accreditation certificates to six medical laboratory facilities.
The accredited laboratories include the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Lagos Laboratory, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) Diagnostics Laboratory, Labcrest Medical Diagnostics and Clinic, Agape Laboratory Services Ltd., OncoGenomics Laboratories, while EL-Lab Laboratories received re-accreditation.
Ofili noted that none of the accredited laboratories was government-owned, urging public health facilities to embrace internationally recognised quality management systems.
He described ISO 15189:2022 as the global benchmark for medical laboratory competence, quality and impartiality, saying accreditation demonstrates that laboratory management systems, technical processes and test results meet internationally accepted standards.
“Quality-assured laboratory science is a right of every Nigerian, not a privilege,” Ofili said.
Ofili said international accreditation enhances patient safety, strengthens confidence in laboratory results, promotes research collaboration, improves competitiveness and supports continuous quality improvement.
President of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, commended the accredited facilities for achieving international recognition and praised MLSCN for maintaining independent accreditation standards.
According to him, modern equipment alone does not guarantee quality laboratory services without proper systems, infrastructure and compliance with international standards.
President of the Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors (GMLD), Mr. Samuel Felle, called for the establishment of a Healthcare Bank to provide financing for laboratory equipment, reagents and other critical healthcare infrastructure.
Managing Director of EL-Lab Laboratories, Dr. Elochukwu Adibo, described accreditation as a rigorous process requiring continuous staff training, operational consistency and sustained management commitment.
He disclosed that EL-Lab has successfully maintained ISO accreditation through five consecutive assessment cycles since 2013.
Managing Director of OncoGenomics Laboratories, Mrs. Faduola Oluwakemi, said the certification was particularly significant because of the laboratory’s specialised work in DNA testing, forensic investigations, and prenatal and postnatal diagnostics.
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Oluwatobi Adu 
Korede Abdullah 
