Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Governing Council has approved 168 new standards for publication and dissemination to various sectors of the Nation’s economy in furtherance of  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 (FMITI), Mr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, the Council also put its seal on the first ever Nigerian National Standardisation Strategy (NNSS) 2020 – 2022, developed by SON to identify priority areas to focus on based on national needs assessment.

According to Sani-Gwarzo, the document is accompanied by a National Implementation Plan that gives orientation for national standardisation work within the three years duration.

He added that 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), Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and other related national strategic plans.

He described the establishment of NNSS as an outstanding and epoch- making achievement of the Director General and his management, for which the Council gave a unanimous commendation.

Welcoming the Council members earlier, the Director General, SON, Mr Osita Aboloma, 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 stated that SON has also been providing necessary technical quality assurance support to local manufacturers involved in the manufacture of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required for the prevention and control of Covid-19 nationwide, through its state offices.

Vanguard