Standards Organisation of Nigeria strengthens alliance with media, general public to combat fake goods, suitable exportable products

 

By allcitynews.blog 

When Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), revived its assurance to the general public of its unwavering commitment to combat of substandard products across the country, through its "Walk For Standards", the management was apparently trying to pass a message that sacrifice, discipline, perseverance and unwavering focus are the currencies of victory for  exportable products.

Thus in his strengthens alliance with media and Nigerians in general, the Director General, Ifeanyi Okeke, used the 2025 edition, which took place after years of abandonment of the street walk, which is in line to celebrate World Standard Day,  Okeke to announce that only joint efforts between the general public and SON will make the set goal a realistic one.

The DG, while addressing the press during the walk noted that growing the economy depends on ability to export.

 "So SON is also playing in that field. Through the SONEXCAP, products that will leave this country to other countries with the SONEXCAP certification, those products can be accepted in most of the countries especially in Africa because of this African free trade area agreement."

Speaking on the themed "Shared vision for a better world, spotlight on the Sustainable Development Goal 17", which took place on Saturday 11 October 2025, Okeke noted that the event is not only to commemorate the global significance of standards, but also to demonstrate collective commitment through the work of standards, a symbolic expression of unity and shared vision for national and global development.

According to him, the theme is both timely and also compelling, noting that it reinforces the fact that sustainable development cannot be achieved by any single institution.

"Collaboration, cooperation, partnership are true drivers of progress and standards are the common language that makes such partnership possible.

"For Nigeria, this theme speaks to the realities of our development journey. Our goals, from food security to industrialization, from energy transition to trade expansion, require cooperation between the government, the private sector, academia and civil society."

Moreover he said, "By spotlighting this Sustainable Development Goal 17, we affirm that partnerships are not simply supportive, but are the very backbone for achieving other Sustainable Development Goals.

Okeke said that national quality infrastructure is the underpinning, that determines Nigeria's level of development, in terms of its ability to ensure that imported and exported products meet the required standards,  either national, regional and global standards.

"We cannot do conformity assessments alone. We need the collaboration, we need the partnership, we need the cooperation.

"In this regard, for imported products, we need to have our internationally accredited experts, because SOM cannot be found everywhere in the world.

"We need to have organizations that have been accredited and recognized globally to be able to help us test and certify our products."

Furthermore, he reiterated saying  "So we need that support, we need that collaboration internationally for imported products.

"SON needs the joint efforts of everyone to boost export of locally produced goods. "We have the SONEXCAP which is our certification programme for exports. Nigeria cannot just continue dwelling on imports."

Likewise, he said, "What really sustains any nation is the ability to export. So SON is also playing in that field. Through the SONEXCAP, products that will leave this country to other countries with the SONEXCAP certification, those products can be accepted in most of the countries especially in Africa because of this African free trade area agreement.

"Because what it simply means is that with our SONEXCAP certification, we have a mutual recognised agreement with other African countries. 

"This means that any products that leave Nigeria to other African countries will be wholeheartedly accepted," he said