SON to reduce Substandard products to 10% by end of 2015

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria has sworn to reduce the rate of sub-standard products in the country to 10 per cent before the end of the year from the 40 per cent it is presently.
Director General and Chief Executive, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Joseph Odumodu, declared this today in Lagos meaning that the current level of 40 per cent, according to him, remained unacceptable to the federal government hence the organization would not rest on its oars to ensure that life danger products are adequately and decisively checked.
Speaking at an expanded stakeholders seminar in Lagos entitled, “Trade Facilitation via Automation of SON’s Services”, Dr. Odumodu made it clear that all and sundry should embrace the change mantra which the Buhari administration has been projecting; adding that stakeholders must support President Buhari to eliminate and check financial leakages and corruption in both public and private sectors of the nation’s economy.
The SON boss described Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) which the agency’s services and businesses have since been integrated as a “Nigeria project that would enable us to transact businesses no matter where we are”. He described NICIS as “a system that no longer allows you to come to SON’s offices across the country to seek certification.
“What we as an organisation has done concerning developing trade portal and NICIS covers the following critical areas – converting all SON Certifications and certificates to electronic format, online transmission of certificate to trade portal/NICIS by consignee for Form ‘M’ and Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) Consignment processing at the comfort of the person’s office, eliminating direct contact (visits to SON office for certification processing); providing HS Codes regulated by SON and the requirements for regulated products on www.trade.gov.ng/son as well as setting up a Customer/Consumer Helpdesk at Apapa, Lagos and Abuja”.