The Acting Director General/Chief Executive of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Paul Angya, has identified SON’s absence at Nigerian ports as a major factor contributing to the ease with which substandard goods enter Nigerian markets.

Dr. Angya also said acute shortage of manpower was limiting SON’s ability to effectively prosecute the war against substandard goods in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that in October 2011, former president Goodluck Jonathan approved the withdrawal of SON and nine other federal agencies from the sea ports. The government said it wanted to reduce the clearing time of goods at the ports to a maximum of one week.
But stakeholders say the decision was ill advised as it had done Nigeria more economic harm than good.

Angya told our correspondent at the weekend that the consequences of removing SON from the seaports and airports were huge as substandard products enter the country with huge losses to local manufacturers.

He said about 70 percent of the 90 percent of products that come through the ports were no longer going through quality verification/checks because SON was no longer there.
Angya also noted that his organisation was experiencing acute shortage of manpower, a situation which is hampering its targeted projections.