Photo caption from left: Director, Laboratory Services, Standard Organization of Nigeria, David Ikhenebome; Director General, SON, Dr Ifeanyi Okeke; Special Adviser to the President on Industry and Trade, John Uwajumogu; Hon Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, during the Minister’s tour of SON facility in Lagos. On Friday
*Positioned for effective mandate delivery – Minister
By Charles Okonji
The state of arts N15 billion Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Laboratory complex in Lagos is at 95 percent completion, which has been adjudged, first of its kind in West Africa.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Owan Enoh, who toured the laboratory facilities at the weekend, noted that with the structure on ground, the organisation is positioned to deliver on its mandate timely and effectively without compromise on standard.
Enoh emphatically noted that the SON team appreciates the enormity of its mandate and strategy, stressing that the organisation’s duty is challenging with the mandate to enforce, elaborate and reveal, which run across a lot of reactions from government and Nigerians.
He advised SON not to be a clog in the wheel of progress, as government would always want to deliver quickly on various procurement laws as such SON should be mindful to make sure to deliver well without hitches.
Appreciating the resilience of the organisation despite challenges encountered in the course of its duty, the minister advised the organisation not to lower its standard, but to deliver promptly to government.
According to him, “The structure of SON according to the Director General’s explanation on the capacity of the laboratories and locations in various commands and zones in the country, make the organisation so positioned to deliver so quickly and effectively. With the commands in different zones, as you continue to evolve, the zones will be decentralised with enough mobile equipment. As you discharge your work in conformity to standard, there is need to deliver quickly on what government wants.”
Commending the present and past leadership of SON, he said, as part of the President Bola Tinubu’s 8 points agenda – Renewed hope agenda of government,” the 7th point agenda which speaks to us in this sector, the more we continue to deliver on that agenda, the more SON is going to be brought into play.”
The minister also stated that one of his mandates, in terms of the programmes of the ministry is the promotion of made in Nigeria goods and services.
He said he was determined to go beyond the talk to the action needed to deliver quality products.
“My team and I are determined that this mandate has been there for too long, but we are going beyond the talk to the action that we need to embark upon to make sure we deliver and as we get set, quality products are going to be key in terms of having to advance the made in Nigeria goods and services and quality goods that would be competitive in and outside the country. “So, SON should be prepared for the national campaign.”
The minister also decried the issue of counterfeiting of original made in Nigeria products, vowing to protect the local companies to boost employment.
“The experience I’ve had in the last three days on the matter of counterfeit products is terrible. Local manufacturers of high quality products, are beaten to it in the market by fake products brought in through smuggling to compete with our local products.
“Together with SON, we will protect these companies that believe in our country and President Tinubu, that is our duty. We got to create jobs for Nigerians too.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the SON DG, Dr Ifeanyi Okeke, said the minister’s visit underscores the commitment of the Federal Government to strengthen the nation’s quality infrastructure in alignment with the renewed hope agenda of the president.
Okeke appreciated the minister on his guidance in advancing Nigerian industrial sector growth.
He said SON as a regulatory institution, is playing a pivotal role in realising the renewed hope agenda by ensuring that quality and standardization remain at the heart of national development.
Pointing out that the SON laboratory serves as the bedrock of conformity assessment, providing essential testing and analysis across critical sectors, including mechanical engineering, energy, food safety, petroleum products and micro biology, he said these activities directly support the federal government’s drive towards economic diversification, industrialisation and global competitiveness.
The SON boss further narrated that the organisation oversees standards in Nigeria, “and in Africa, we have ARSO, which is the African Regional for Standardization that oversees standards in the continent. We also have the ISO, the International Standardization Organization resident in Switzerland.”
He explained that testing in the labs is also part of its mandate, “We carry out test on products, so we are trying our utmost best to make our testing and it’s process effective for our clients, which are manufacturers.
“We test their samples and products to ensure that they are in line with our established standards. So that was what led to the idea of developing an edifice like this (the laboratory complex) house our laboratory facilities. This idea actually came in year 2000, when we acquired this place, and we commenced construction of this gigantic edifice in 2013. “This compound is about 10,000 square metres, which is about one hectare. And overtime, we have expended about N15 billion so far which includes the edifice you ate seeing and the equipment on ground.
“We also have our regional laboratories, which is actually sited in the six geopolitical zones of the country to ensure that our services reach everyone one that needs our services throughout the country.
“We have laboratories in Kaduna, Uyo, Awka, Bauchi, Abuja and this one in Lagos. This is to help us effectively service our cliental base.
“We also have our Mobile Testing Laboratory, which is specifically for some of our clients that have heavy equipment that cannot be easily moved. In 2024, I launched the Mobile Testing Laboratory here, which is for us to be able to visit our clients and test their equipment at office.
“We can also go to the port and test these heavy duty equipment while it’s being cleared to test the equipment to ensure that the quality is in line with our established standards. We also carry out metrological services in collaboration with the Nigerian Metrological Institute in Enugu, which is also another edifice which we also like you to visit.
“We also carry out calibration services, to ensure the the equipment are traceable, accurate in terms of measurement, and they are also reliable and we also engage the private sector to ensure that we recalibrate their equipment in line with standards.
“The minimal national standard is with the SON and in our laboratory in Enugu.
In a nut-shell, this laboratory is the largest in West Africa and this is as result of the hard work of my predecessors and myself in ensuring that we have the laboratories completed in the expected time. So far, we have reached about 95% completion, which will be commissioned by December.
