By Felix Khanoba
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, with five state governments on ways of ensuring standardization in goods produced in the states.
The Director General of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, who made this known on Thursday at a one day capacity building workshop organised for journalists by the organization in Abuja, said the move would enable the states to be a major player in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He listed the states as Cross River, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina and Lagos.
Salim said the MOU would go a long way in strengthening the activities of SON with the States towards improving Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs operating in the country.
He stated that SON over the past nine months had arrested about 10 fake manufacturers in Kano, Ibadan and Lagos and are currently being prosecuted.
According to him, substandard tyres and other products worth hundreds of millions naira have also been confiscated by the Organisation over the last 9 months across the country.
Mallam Salim explained that SON had been engaging Steel Industries as part of measures to ensure standardisation and towards putting an end to building collapse in the country.
The Director General of SON pointed out that the enforcement activities of the Organization had been increased to prevent the import of substandard goods into the country.
He said efforts were also being made to boost and protect the production of local industries through appropriate monitoring and standard regulations to enable them take advantage of African Free Continental Trade Agreement, AfCTA.
Speaking further, Salim stated that plans were underway to improve the salary structure and condition of service of SON’s workforce towards boosting standardisation of products and protect Nigerian consumers from substandard goods.
He therefore solicited the support of the media towards achieving the mandate of the Agency.
In a remark, the Chairman of Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria, CICAN, Abuja Chapter, Comrade Fred Idehai who commended SON for the workshop said it would go a long way in broadening the knowledge of journalists on the activities of the Organisation.
Fred Idehai therefore stressed the need for more partnership between CICAN and SON for an enhanced Products standardization and economic development of the country.
Highlights of the workshop were paper presentations on the activities and mandate of SON.
