The Nigerian Standards Organization has granted the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Program certificate to around 12 organizations that have retained outstanding quality awards.
According to The Punch, on Thursday, the awards event was held at the SON office in Nnewi, Anambra State.
The event’s keynote speaker, Director General of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, stated that the awards were not given out lightly because they required meticulous research on the producers’ products.
Salim, who was represented by the organization’s Regional Director, Mathias Bessy, advised the manufacturers not to yield in ensuring that quality is maintained at all times because it is not cheap.
Quality is a benchmark, and as Nigeria’s top standards body, SON cannot compromise on its purpose, he said. As a result, it constantly grants MANCAP Certificates to meritorious businesses who have satisfied the standards.
“Nigeria cannot afford to remain in the shadows as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement is established. Therefore, in order to promote trade, manufacturers and other service providers in the nation must fully abide by the requirements and standardization efforts as established by SON.
He stated that the SON was more interested in the standardizing of SMEs, which make up roughly 39.65% of businesses in Nigeria and employ more than 87.9% of the labour force.
In order for Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, to take its proper place in the comity of nations, he urged manufacturers to make sure they adopt the culture of standards and quality.
