The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on Tuesday hinted of its introduction of a temporary Product Identification Scheme (PIS) and decentralisaion of its laboratory network as part of its sustained efforts to enhance product certification and support for manufacturers in the country.
Director-General of the organisation, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke, made this disclosure while speaking at a stakeholders’ forum on the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme for all products manufactured in Nigeria and the Logo launch ceremony in Lagos.
According to him, the agency has established seven regional laboratories in Bauchi, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Awka, Akwa Ibom, and Lagos, as part of its initiatives to significantly reduce the time it takes for manufacturers to test their products, thereby easing the certification process.
The Director-General explained: “We have an internal system where a committee of senior SON officials objectively reviews all certification processes before approval. Previously, this took a quarter, but we have now reduced it to two weeks to ensure timely delivery.”
He pointed out that the introduction of the PIS was a stopgap for products without existing standards as the scheme allows emerging products to enter the market under temporary guidelines while the SON works on developing formal standards.
Justifying the imperativeness of the initiative, Okeke maintained that the country cannot shut its doors to innovation, hence industrialization must be encouraged while we gather data to establish necessary standards.
On the PIS initiative, he disclosed that “the PIS will run for three years, during which SON will monitor trends and ensure integration into the formal certification system. This initiative is a bridge between innovation and regulation, ensuring that manufacturers can operate while we develop necessary standards.”
The Director-General added that with these reforms, SON was reinforcing its commitment to Nigeria’s industrial growth and consumer protection in line with its statutory mandate.
In his speech, Director-General of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, stressed the need for a holistic standardization and quality assurance to enhance Made-In-Nigeria products’ competitiveness in Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA), and the global market.
The industrialist cautioned the Federal Government against the introduction of non-tariff barriers that could hinder market access for Nigerian manufacturers.
He said: “For us to proudly demonstrate that our products meet global standards, we must eliminate technical trade barriers. Otherwise, we risk creating a 1.5 billion-person market for Asia, America, and Europe while sidelining our industries.”
Ajayi-Kadir also tasked the regulatory agencies to deepen integration efforts for the purposes of ensuring that Nigerian products are not rejected or restricted in Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSAs’) other markets due to inconsistent standards.
