One hundred days after assuming office as Acting Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Chartered Chemists of Nigeria (ICCON), Chemist Akwaowo Idongesit Reuben is seeking to reposition the 33-year-old regulatory institution, beginning with its visibility, internal administration and oversight of chemical practice in the country.

For Akwaowo, who is a pioneer staff member and the first person to rise through the ranks to head the Institute, the immediate task has been to address what he describes as an identity gap that has limited public understanding of ICCON and its statutory responsibilities.

“ICCON has been in existence since 1993 and started operation in 2005. The Institute was established by Decree 91 of 1993, yet there is still a gap in proper branding and identity as to what it stands for and what its mandates are.”

“The major driving force for me is my desire to bring ICCON from the doldrums to the limelight as quickly as possible,” he said.

The Institute, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, is responsible for regulating the teaching, learning and professional practice of chemistry. Its mandate also places it at the intersection of chemical safety, public health, industrial production and national security.

That responsibility has informed some of the administration’s early engagements. ICCON recently participated, for the first time, in the review of regulations on chemicals and chemical products organised by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The Institute has also intensified its collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and other stakeholders over the issuance of End User Certificates to chemical companies, particularly in strengthening oversight of controlled chemicals.

According to Akwaowo, regulation cannot stop at the chemical product itself but must extend to the people handling it throughout the value chain.

“To get it right in regulating chemical products, there is need to tighten human resource regulations saddled with the responsibility of handling chemicals right from formulation, manufacturing, importing, marketing, transportation and storage,” he said.

The first 100 days have also brought attention to some of ICCON’s internal administrative challenges. The 2025 staff promotion exercise, which had reportedly remained unresolved for about one year and five months, has been completed, with affected employees promoted and their new grade levels uploaded on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

Outstanding transfer entitlements owed to staff transferred between 2019 and 2023 have also begun to be paid.

Beyond personnel matters, the administration has moved to restore some neglected assets. Two buses, a Peugeot Expert and Nissan Urvan, have been repaired and returned to service, while computers, photocopiers and printers in the Human Resources Department have also been restored.

Akwaowo’s administration is equally looking beyond ICCON’s headquarters in Abuja. Office space has been secured at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Uyo for a proposed South-South Zonal Office, while discussions are ongoing over a similar presence in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

The objective, officials say, is to bring the regulator closer to practitioners and chemical businesses while expanding its operational reach.

The Institute has also begun reviewing its digital presence. A consultant has been engaged to address broken links and dead pages on its website and improve access to information for members and the wider public.Meanwhile, ICCON is preparing for its 21st Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme (MCPD), scheduled for November, with the theme, “Towards a Lead-Free Chemical Industry in Nigeria: Advancing Safer Chemistry, Sustainable Alternatives and Regulatory Compliance.”

Akwaowo said the theme was prompted by concerns over the health consequences of the improper use of lead in the paint and cosmetics industries.

“The increasing health hazards arising from the wrong application of lead in the manufacturing of paints and cosmetics make this training timely,” he said, adding that the programme would examine the chemistry behind lead poisoning and promote safer alternatives.

At 100 days, however, the more important test for the administration is whether these interventions will translate into lasting institutional reforms.

For an organisation whose work is often invisible to the public, ICCON’s effectiveness is ultimately less about visibility than its capacity to regulate chemical practice, enforce professional standards and prevent practices capable of harming human health and the environment.

Akwaowo’s first 100 days have consequently been characterised more by attempts to repair existing systems than by sweeping policy changes. The challenge ahead will be to turn those repairs into durable structures and make ICCON a more recognisable, responsive and effective regulator within Nigeria’s chemical sector.