Mallam Farouk Salim, director general of the Standards Organization of Nigeria, SON, stated that the body conducts proper testing of locally made items to prevent their rejection in foreign markets.
Salim disclosed this yesterday in Lagos, during the celebration of SON @50, that the regulatory agency was achieving this by equipping its Engineering Laboratories, the National Metrology Institute in Enugu, the Leather and Textile Laboratory in Kaduna, and the Foods, Chemical and Electrical Laboratories in Ogba, Lagos.
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Represented by SON’s Marketing Director, Richard Adewunmi, the Director General stated:
“SON has over the years put in place programs for capacity building for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, MSME’s, with discounts, waivers, and product’s certification processes for that sector to ensure the products and services offered to meet the specified requirements of the Standards and can compete favorably in the international space, thereby, creating job opportunities for Nigerians.
“To further strengthen our core mandate, we are constructing new Regional Offices Complex, state offices and rehabilitating old office buildings. We are also working closely with state governments to provide lands for construction of offices and laboratories in order to enable prompt service delivery to factories and MSMEs.
“We recently commissioned the Kano Regional Training Facility to provide training services for our stakeholders in the North West and would be commissioning in North East Regional Office Complex in Bauchi State in a few days.”
Salim congratulated the entire family of SON, both past and present, for their service to the nation. He then traced the history of the establishment of SON by an Enabling Act No. 56 of December 1971, also known as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria cap 412 of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, during the military era.
“Today, the amended version of the statute, SON Act No. 14 of 2015 has not only given us more responsibilities but has also armed us with the powers to conduct search, arrest, prosecute and seal up facilities where they go contrary to its provisions. The Act also increased the penalties for various degrees of violations relative to the offenses and the value of the goods under consideration.” He added.
Continuing, he emphasized that “this celebration is designed to pay tribute to the concerted efforts of thousands of staff, SON Council Members, Management, (past and present) and stakeholders who worked tirelessly to make SON the reputable organization it is today.”
