The Director General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Mallam Farouk Salim, has called for collaboration between stakeholders in industrial and manufacturing business to collaborate with SON to reduce the flow of substandard products into the country.
Salim, who was represented by his Senior Special Adviser, Emeka, Duru, made the call in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Thursday, during a one-day stakeholders sensitisation forum with the theme “Standardisation: Catalysts for industrialisation”.
According to Salim, “Manufacturers should patronise SON by collaborating with it to reduce the influx of substandard products, share information with SON on substandard products. let us be kind to humanity in all that we do to help save life.
“Standardisation is a global issue and Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind in the comity of nations if we desire economic development.”
SON’s cooperation with all manufacturers, consumers, service providers, and governments at all levels, he claimed, was the focus of current activities.
He emphasized that SON’s goal is to increase consumer confidence and Nigerian goods and services’ competitiveness on a global scale. He said that SON has the vision to improve lives through standardization and quality assurance.
Pedro Ebenezer, Director, Anambra State Operational Directorate, urged participants to always report any suspicious coworkers to the appropriate authorities for prosecution and fine during his presentation of SON’s programs.
The resource person for the sensitisation forum, Dr Festus Ukwueze, while delivering a lecture on the topic: “SON Act as a pathway to industrial growth and development of Nigeria”, said that if the provisions of the SON Act are well implemented, it will boost domestic of consumers products.
According to Ukwueze, this would prevent the importation of fake, inferior goods and preserve foreign exchange that could be used to fund industrial endeavors.
Participants in the question and answer session urged SON to improve the quality of the services it provides to the public.
