Nigeria First: SON Parleys Manufacturers on Roofing Sheet Standards, Warn Defaulters 

Dike Onwuamaeze 

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has warned against the production and importation of substandard aluminum and roofing sheets, saying that defaulters risk prosecution.

The warning was delivered on Friday by the Director General of SON, Dr Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, at a stakeholders’ forum held in Lagos with the theme: “Boosting the Building Industry Value Chain With Standard roofing Sheets.”

Represented by the Director of Corporate Affairs of SON, Mrs Talatu Ethan, he said that the move has become urgent with the Nigeria First policy of the federal government, which required the prioritisation of locally made goods and services.

Okeke said: “We have intensified market surveillance exercise in the building material sector. We have carried out several raids and initiated prosecution where necessary to serve as deterrent.”

He said that roofing sheets are not just construction materials, rather”they are the final protective barriers that improve the durability, efficiency and beauty of any building”

He added: “Whether in urban centres or rural communities, roofing remains a defining investment that one should never play with. It should deliver peace of mind to homeowners, developers and infrastructural investors.”

Okeke said that SON is alert on its mandate of developing standards that would improve the quality of products and services in Nigeria. 

He stated that this could be achieved by developing the parameters for manufacturers in the production of products and services. 

In his remark, the Director General of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, who was represented by Mr. Joseph Imoleke, said that manufacturers are exceptionally patriotic. 

Ajayi-Jadir said because of their love for creating jobs through manufacturing, manufacturers have ignored sectors with quick returns on investments and opted to invest in manufacturing.