The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) yesterday inaugurated its Seme border office with assurance to intensify efforts at checking influx of substandard products into the country through land borders.
Director-General of SON, Osita Aboloma, said at the ceremony that the new border office would strengthen the organisation’s surveillance at the land borders.
According to him, a sizeable amount of substandard products find their way into the country via land borders.
Aboloma said that the Seme office, near Badagry, was a product of a collaborative relationship between SON and other agencies, adding that some of the working tools were donated by stakeholders.
“All the departments of SON with different roles towards combating the influx of substandard goods are now here. We have our customer service, sampling and other departments here to serve Nigeria well.
“This is also part of our effort at creating an enabling environment for ease of doing business in Nigeria,” he said.
He promised that his organisation would continue to review and update its standards to ensure goods and services conformed to the minimum requirements of the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS).
The director-general said these steps were in line with the general retooling of SON targeted at efficient and enhanced service delivery.
He said, “Standardisation is a continuous process; we have to keep on renewing and updating some of them and we recently cleared a backlog of 114 standards to help people carry out their duties of production of goods and services efficiently.
“Also, very soon we will be reviewing standards for soft drinks, food and other related products.’’
Aboloma pointed out that emphasis in the agency’s bid to diversify Nigeria’s economy was by upgrading standards for agricultural products for export.
He said that the organisation was working on a product that would provide standards for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a means of retooling the sector.
In his remarks at the inauguration, Deputy Comptroller, Nigerian Customs Service, (NCS), Jubo Mohammed, commended the management of SON for establishing the facility.
Mohammed said that the facility would help in reducing the influx of substandard goods into the country and enhance the collaboration between SON, NCS and other stakeholders in the interest of the nation’s economy.
“This will enable SON staff to conduct their duties in the most convenient way. I am assuring you of the cooperation of the NCS in achieving your mandate,” he said.
