Substandard products: SON urges manufacturers, importers to adhere to required regulations

The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has asked manufacturers and importers of goods to adhere to requisite regulatory standards and avoid “shortcuts”.

Tersoo Oringudwen, director of products certification department at SON, spoke at a one-day sensitisation organised by the agency in conjunction with COTECNA, in Calabar on Wednesday.

He said Nigerian manufacturers need sincerity of purpose and to work with SON to ensure standardisation through the conformity assessment programme (CAP), even in the area of imports.

The director said SON does not want Nigerians to import goods only for them to be seized and burnt, “because the businessman loses money and in the course of burning the goods, the toxic effect on the environment is heavy”.

“Nigerians must stop the idea of shortcuts in manufacturing, imports and exports and work with SON because the money paid under the table can even be more than doing the right thing,” Oringudwen said.

“We can empower the naira if we make ourselves great by doing the right thing like ensuring that made-in-Nigeria goods are produced with standards in mind that they meet international requirements for export.”

Speaking on the foreign exchange (FX) market, Oringudwen said Nigerians need to produce more and export to ensure FX availability in the country.

He also urged Nigerians seeking to export goods to other nations to be abreast of the export requirements of the target markets, adding that they could work with SON and COTECNA in the event of uncertainties.

On her part, Abigail Orok, commissioner for commerce in Cross River, said Nigeria has placed too much emphasis on importation and now needs to start looking at enhancing exports.

“We are done with theories. We need to start looking at how to package our producers in clusters and see what SON and other agencies can do to help us move their goods out of Nigeria,” Orok said.

“By the time we start sending certified products out of this country, Nigeria will be looked upon in a good light and we will drive foreign exchange down to Nigeria.”