BY Victoria Ojeme

The Director General of Standards Organization of Nigeria, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, with 5 State Governments on ways of ensuring standardization in goods produced in the States.

Mallam Salim made this known at a one day Capacity Building Workshop organized for Journalists by Organization in Abuja

The States are Cross River, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina and Lagos.

Mallam 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.

He stated that SON over the past 9 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 been confiscated by the Agency over the last 9 months across the country.

Mallam Salim explained that SON had been engaging Steel Industries as part of measures to ensure standardization 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.

Mallam Salim stated that plans were on ground to improve the salary structure and condition of service of SON’s workforce towards boosting standardization 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 his remarks, 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 Organization.

Mr 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.