The Federal Government is to strengthen its agencies in the fight against the influx of substandard goods.

Dr. Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Trade and Investment, made the declaration on Saturday in Lagos during the Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) awards ceremony organised by the Standards Organisation of Nigerian (SON).

Aganga said that that the government was straightening its processes and various regulatory agencies like the SON, NAFDAC, the Customs service and other agencies to ensure effectiveness in combating substandard goods.

He said the menace of substandard goods required collaboration of relevant government agencies and the  organised private sector  to rid the country off the unwholesome products. Aganga advised government agencies to redouble their efforts in assisting indigenous companies to achieve greater capacity utilisation.

Minister of Trade & Investment, Olusegun Aganga

”It is gratifying to note that the quality of some products manufactured in Nigeria today is the envy of the outside world, such that imported products are fraudulently labelled Made-in-Nigeria and shipped into the country.

“Some good examples are our locally manufactured electric cables, textiles, among others, “he said. Aganga said that the transformation agenda of the Federal Government was aimed largely at tackling critical areas of infrastructural development that would reposition the manufacturing sector.

According to him, the government is also committed to the promotion of small and medium- scale industries through various programmes. He said that one of such programmes was the capacity development programme for small and medium-enterprises being undertaken by SON in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat with active participation of relevant stakeholders in the nation.

The minister said that the introduction SONCAP and MANCAP was to protect local industries and ensure a level playing field in market access and competitiveness. He commended the local industries, whose products were adjudged to have conformed consistently to the specifications in the relevant NIS, for complying with good manufacturing practices in spite of daunting infrastructural challenges.

“I like to describe you as the pride of the nation for your doggedness, courage and commitment to the Nigeria project in flying high the flag of high quality products, thus promoting economic growth,” he said. Dr. Joseph Odumodu, Director General of SON, said that the ceremony was part of the organisation’s efforts to accelerate industrial development and promote quality of Made-in-Nigeria products.

He said that the process of certification was very vigorous and took consistent monitoring and inspection of the various products to meet the requirements of the relevant NIS .

Odumodu said that products that passed the assessments could compete favourably both at domestic and international markets. “SON is vindicated in this regard by the positive testimonies of the performance of certified Made-in-Nigeria products in the global market, particularly in the West Africa sub-region and the continent in general,” he said.

The SON chief said the success story of the SON during the year was evidenced by the improvement in the number of companies and products that excelled in the process of certification.