The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (Son) will soon  propose  a bill to the  National Assembly  for the amendment of the law that established it  with a view  to increasing  its power  to ensure that  the goods consumed in the country are of the right qualities. Dr. Joseph Odumodu, new director-general of the organsation, who stated this in Lagos last week, said the law has become necessary in order to rid the country of the menace of substandard products. The bill will propose stiff penalties for manufacturers and importers of fake products.
Son was established through Act 56 in 1971; it was then called the Nigerian Standards Organisation (NSO). The Act establishing the body witnessed a number of amendments by different military regimes of General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1976, in 1984 by Major General Muhammadu Buhari and in 1990 by the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. The agency was statutorily vested with the responsibility of standardising and regulating the quality of all products in Nigeria with powers of seizure, confiscation and destruction of substandard products, including powers to seal up premises where defective products are manufactured or stored. Severe penalties for offending manufacturers, importers and sellers of substandard products are also provided for in the amended Act.
Odumodu also said that the organisation will soon overhaul its laboratory to global standard if Nigeria must meet the objectives of its Vision 20:20:20. “If we must rub shoulders with the leading economies of the world and meet the set targets, the organisation’s laboratory has to be overhauled,’’ he said .
He said that upgrading the laboratory would enhance the ability of the organisation to carry out its duties in dealing with importers of sub-standard goods into the country.