By Favour Nnabugwu
The Federal Government has threatened to shut local manufacturers of products not certified by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, in accordance with the agency’s  Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme, MANCAP.

Director-General of SON, Dr Joseph Odumodu, who issued the threat during the flag-off of “The Walk for Standards” to mark 2014 World Standards Day in Abuja at the weekend, said the agency had already commenced full implementation of MANCAP across the nation.

He said:  “I wish to use the occasion of World Standard Day 2014 them Standard Level the Playing Field, to urge all local manufacturers and assemblies to cooperate in getting their products certified.

“The process is designed to assist them implement the requirements of relevant standards from raw materials to the finished products with a view to offering quality products that offer value for money to consumers.”

Odumodu, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Operations,  Mr. Nelson Adebiyi,  explained that the MANCAP certification would also ensure that locally manufactured products  were subjected to similar conformity processes as imported products.

According to him, this is to create a level playing field as stated in the theme of the 2014 World Standard Day celebration.

He, however, warned that the agency would not hesitate to shut any firm that failed to comply, adding that  SON would continue to ensure that industrialists conformed to MANCAP.

“When we identify such defaulters, we close down their factories immediately. Once we confirm that the products are not up to the requirement of the standard, or the specification, we close them down immediately.

“If they are the cooperative types, we work with them, tell them what to do until they get it right. But if they are the ones that will want to remain recalcitrant, the law of the nation will deal with them,” Odumodu said.

He stated that SON had shut some companies whose products posed health hazards to consumers, adding that the companies would only be reopened when they conformed to MANCAP.

MANCAP was instituted by SON in 2006 as a standard measure, which requires all manufactured products in Nigeria to conform to the relevant Nigerian Industrial Standards, prior to sales in the markets or export.