DG: SON Will Promote Nigerian Products 

By Emmanuel Ukumba in Lafia

The Director General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mr.

Osita Aboloma, has said the organisation will promote market-driven standards to penetrate the international market by certifying products, processes or systems which is the tonic requirement for products at the international market.

The director general stated this at the presentation of SON Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) Certificate organised by

the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) office of the organisation at Mararaba in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Aboloma, who was represented at the occasion by Mr. Charles Nwagbara,

said: “The exercise is very important in this era of diversification of our nation’s economy to the non-oil sector. SON’s  encouraging of Nigerian manufacturers is a sure way to turn around our dwindling economic fortune.

“Gaining access to the ever competitive international market is not what we can wish away, rather it is what we must strive to achieve because we are left with no options now than to employ all available means to have our own share of the market.”

Also speaking, the coordinator of SON in FCT, Mr Gambo Dimka, said the 16 companies who got the award commenced the journey of inculcating quality in their system, processes and products at different times under the guidance of SON.

He said the process was in order to comply with the government policy that all locally manufactured products must meet the minimum requirements of the relevant Nigerian industrial standards in order to protect the health, safety and environment of the citizens and engender the business profitability and sustainability.

“The product certification process involves assessing manufacturers, production systems and facilities and drawing representative sample of the end products for testing in International Organization for Standards (ISO 17025), accredited laboratories at SON or any independent accredited testing facilities.

“The objective of this process is to entrench a culture of quality and continual improvement in companies and to provide a certification that will help them to among others have the ability to be accepted into the new market and maximise the potentials of existing market,” Dimka said.

A representative of the FCT Minister, Mr. Bala Mohammed Liman, said since the launch of the MANCAP award, all locally manufactured products in Nigeria were being closely monitored to ensure they conform to the relevant Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) before such products are presented for sale within the country and also for export.

He said: “The activities of SON under the current management, are tailored around ensuring the safety and health of Nigerians as well as playing a crucial role at promoting economic and industrial development of the country. This is of course in line with the goals of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.”

Speaking on behalf of the recipients, the Managing Director of Ivado Universal Options Ltd, Mr Chukwu Mathew Onyeabor, applauded the new management of SON who have introduced stringent measures for erring defaulters, noting that SON does not only bark but bite and this has strengthened the Nigerian products in the market today to favourably compete with the foreign products.