AfCFTA: SON seeks support to establish more laboratories

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has urged the National Assembly to support its quest to establish more laboratories in the country to expand its testing capacity.

Malam Farouk Salim, the Director-General, SON, made the appeal in Lagos during a facility tour and oversight function by some federal lawmakers visiting the agency.

Salim said the

call for more laboratories became pertinent to enable the SON perform its function maximally, stressing that the agency was inundated with so many goods to certify, monitor and test.

He said, presently, Nigerian industries are disadvantaged in exporting, following the agency’s inadequate capacity to test, monitor and certify local products.

“Our work will also protect our people from substandard goods, gas explosions and building collapse,” he said.

He said that the Standards body had recently launched a more secured certification process to address issues of faking and forging of its certificate.

In his remark, Mr Dolapo Badru, Chairman of the House Committee on Industry, said that the absence of SON at the ports was responsible for the nation becoming a dumping ground for substandard goods.

“It is unthinkable that substandard iron rods, tyres, gas cylinders, generators and so many other things are being imported into the country, and yet SON is being prevented from operating at the ports,” Badru said.