The Governing Council of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria has approved 168 new standards for publication and dissemination to various sectors of the economy in furtherance of the Federal Government’s economic diversification policy.
Rising from its virtual meeting, Chaired from Abuja by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, the Council also put its seal on the first Nigerian National Standardisation Strategy 2020 – 2022, developed by SON to identify priority areas to focus on, based on the national needs assessment.
The permanent secretary said the document was accompanied by a National Implementation Plan, which gave orientation for national standardisation work within three years.
According to him, the NNSS has identified a total of 658 standardisation projects in key priority areas, classified by economic sectors as highlighted in Federal Government’s Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP), the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and other related national strategic plans.
He described the establishment of the NNSS as an outstanding and epoch-making achievement of the Director General and his management, for which the Council gave a unanimous commendation.
The Director-General, SON, Osita Aboloma, also listed the organisation’s role and support in the Federal Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic to include leveraging on its international collaboration to make necessary and relevant international standards available to local manufacturers at no cost.
He said the organisation also waived charges relating to importation of essential materials while also fast tracking the process.
Aboloma noted that SON had also been providing necessary technical quality assurance support to local manufacturers involved in the manufacture of Personal Protective Equipment required for the prevention and control of COVID-19 nationwide, through its state offices.
