-by our correspondent.
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has announced plans to bolster the nation’s manufacturing industry with its newly accredited laboratories, noting that the standards body is also aiming to increase the level of export of locally made goods to the international market.
The Director General of SON, Farouk Salim, who disclosed this at the unveiling of its three accredited laboratories in Ogba – Lagos, said the accredited laboratories would encourage manufacturers to produce more, saying that products certified and tested in the laboratory would receive global acceptance anywhere in the world.
In his words, “What it means for our market is that, most of our manufacturers you heard them saying that their products were rejected even by our local companies because their products are not certified, because they do not have laboratory certificate to say that they are up to standard, but now that excuse is out of the way “
“With the certification it is easy for them to export anywhere in the world because an accredited laboratory means that whatever we certify good is good. It gives the nation credibility, it gives our manufacturers credibility, and it saves our foreign currency because they do not have to go to neighbouring countries to get their products certified anymore, so it is a win-win situation for everybody.” Salim added.
The SON Director General, also said that there are plans to establish more laboratories to ensure that goods can be tested anywhere in the country. He enjoined stakeholders in the industry to contribute their quota to building more world class laboratories in the country.
“Our main plan is that in every State, there should be a minimum of some laboratory activity that can be done, because we do not want people travelling from one State to another because of testing. The three laboratories is a step forward especially with the AfCFTA in full force, foreign invasion of goods and it is really important that our local manufactured goods are not only certified, but assured to be up to standards end the rejection of locally made goods,” he added.
For her part, the Deputy Director, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, (FIIRO), Dr. Adebukola Huthman, commended SON for unveiling the accredited laboratories while noting that getting an accreditation in a country like Nigeria was a difficult task.
“I know what you had to go through to achieve this, but to go ahead to meet the tough requirements means that SON has done lots of beautiful work and it also shows that their results have a lot of integrity and there is high confidence in their result,” she said.
Director General of SON, Farouk Salim
“An accredited laboratory means that Nigeria has the same standards with other countries in the world. SON’s laboratories are among the very few accredited laboratories in the world,” she added.
Also speaking, the Head, Planning, Research and Statistics, Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN), Emmanuel Odega, said accreditation ensures that your goods from Nigeria carry the same quality with any other country in the world which is a boost to the economy, “it will help to earn foreign exchange for the country because some of the products currently being taken away outside the shores of the country for testing will be stopped,” he added.
On his part, the Executive Secretary, Paints Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Jude Maduka, said the accreditation would ensure that made-in-Nigeria goods compete favourably in the AfCFTA, stressing that the laboratories would strengthen SON’s testing capabilities.
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