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COUNTRY PAPER FROM STANDARDS ORGANISATION OF NIGERIA

WORKSHOP ON LINKING TRADE PROMOTION ORGANISATION AND
NATIONAL STANDARDS BODIES FOR EXPORT SUCCESS 21 TO 23 JUNE
2011

THE ROLE STRUCTURE AND SCOPE OF SON
INTRODUCTION OF SON
Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) was established by enabling Act No. 56 of
1971
Let me quickly brief you on the responsibility of SONs
- To advise the Federal Government generally on the National Policy on
Standards, Standards, specification quality control and metrology
- To designate, establish and approve standards on respect of metrology,
materials, commodities, structures and processes for the certification of
products in commerce and industry throughout Nigerian
- To provide the necessary measures for quality control of new materials and
products in conformity with the standard specification SON also carries out
the following functions among others:-

(a) Organise tests and do everything necessary to ensure compliance with
standards designated and approved by the council.

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(b) Undertake investigation as necessary into the quality of facilities, materials
and products in Nigerian, and establish a quality assurance system including
certification of factories, products and Laboratories.
(c) Ensure reference standards for calibration and verification of measures and
measuring instruments.
In short, the bulk of SON job borders on the following quality infrastructure:-

Standardisation Development and publication of a document approved by a
recognized body that provides for common and repeated
use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for products and
their related processes or production methods with which
compliance is not mandatory standards can be the basis of
technical regulation, contractual obligation or market
expectation standards are developed on a ------------- of
levels on SON

(i) International Standards
(ii) Regional Standards ECOWAS
(iii) National Standards
(iv) Company Standards


Metrology

Metrology is the technology or sconce of measurement
and the service is required to ensure internationally
recognized traceability of measurements and calibration of
measuring instruments, metrology in SON cense divided
into:-

- Scientific metrology
- Legal metrology
- Industrial metrology
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Conformity Assessment Conformity assessment is the collective term for services

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necessary to provide evidence that a supplier, product or
service meet requirements such as provided for in a
standard or technical regulation. The following are
generally pretisal and considered to be conformity
assessment services.

- Inspection - Routine factory inspection
surveillance factory inspect
Surveillance inspection of products

- Testing - Food chemistry laboratory
- Mechanical laboratory
- Textile/Leather Laboratory
- Microbiology Lab
- Electrical/Electronic Laboratory
- Civil Engineering Laboratory

System Certification = ISO 901 & ISO 14
ISO17025, HACCP

Product Certification - Certification factory inspection
Revalidation factory inspection
MANCAP factory inspection


Training

Training services in Standardisation, testing and
certification and most include the implementation of
Hazard Analysis and critical control point (HACCP)
management system conforming to ISO 9001, ISO14001,
ISO22000 and training in lead auditor Auditor course

Laboratory
Accreditation
Accreditation including the activity providing independent -
-----------as to the ------------- of individual or organizations
providing conformity assessment services thereby
facilitating international recogniation of claims of
conformity


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WTO/TBT AND SPS
ENQUIRY POINTS
SON IS THE WTO/TBT National Enquiry Point for Nigeria
while sps is the National Enquiry Point for Food standards
- SON WTO/TBT Enquiry Point provider the following
information:-
- Current national standards
- Proposed new technical regulation
- Proposed charges to technical/regulations
- Any requirements on assessing conformity with
Technical regulation or standards
Any bilateral or multilateral recognition agreements
regarding all of the above.
SPS Enquiry Point - SON Sps Enquiry Point providers the following
information in food standards
- Information on any adopted or proposed sanitary or
phytosanity regulations
- Any control or inspection procedure, requirement for
production, procession food standards
- SON is the contact point for ---------------------------------
----
Consultancy Services SON provide consultative service regarding compliance
with standards and technical/regulations in target markets

- Registration of NIS ISO auditors and lead Auditors.










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SERVICE IN HIGHEST DEMAND FOR EXPORTERS
Service in highest demand for exports services offered by Standards Organisation of Nigeria
(SON) to Industries, services Organisation suppliers, Government and Public Enterprises
includes:-
(1) Sales of National and Foreign Standards, NIS Directors, technical journals and SON
publications
(2) Database of store cards for information
(3) Quality system and Environmental systems certification
(4) Product certificate
(5) Qualification training in NIS ISO 9000, NIS 190 14000, ISO 17025 & HACCP standards
(6) Laboratory Services relating to product testing/analysis
(7) Instrument calibration
(8) Laboratory accreditation
(9) NIS Award for certified products
(10) Human Resources Development and Training
(11) Factory Inspection for product Quality Assurance
(12) Environmental Quality Management system certification
(13) Import Inspection of products
(14) Pre-shipment Inspection of Export
(15) Consultancy services in standardization quality assurance, testing, import and
exports trade support.
(16) Consumer complaint & collaboration
Strategic vision of SON over the next three years is to be a competent dynamic Organisation
capable of responding rapidly to the challenges of innovations and taking Nigeria to higher
quality standards, while the strategic mission is to take Nigeria to higher standards of quality
through standards formulation elaboration, specification and quality assurance systems for
goods and services in Nigeria.
The strategic vision of SON aligned to the national development promotions in the rising need
for imports and exports/others businessmen and women to be guided by SON in order to
import policy of nurturing a market driven economy that revolves around quality.



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THE EXISITING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STANDARDS ORGANISATION OF NIGERIA AND
NIGERIAN EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL
Standards Organisation of Nigeria is the apex Federal Government agency in Nigeria under the
Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry while Nigerian Export Promotion Council is a
Department under the same Ministry.

The role of SON is well understood by NEPC to the following extent:-
SON information on standardization work programme.
(i) Development of New product standards
(ii) Technical committee to be established
(iii) Circulatory draft standards for public comment
(iv) Member of Nigerian committee on Trade procedures
(v) SON is the WTO/TBT&SPS enquiry points for Nigeria
All these roles and relationship are well understood by the exports
The relationship between SON & NEPC was established 1983, with respect to export drive SON
in collaboration with the Export Promotion Council organized a national workshop for small
scale industrialists, the theme of which was Economic and Social benefit of Quality control.
No constraints that SON faces in terms of linking up with NEPC .
SON collaboration with the following NACCIMA, MAN, ECOWAS
(III) THE POTENTIAL FUTURE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SON AND NEPC

SON collaborates with NEPC in almost all the sectors, non-oil export, services.
The following areas of collaboration between SON & NEPC
(I) PREPARATION AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION SHARING OF
INFORMATION REGARDING

- Markets of interest to exports
- Products and Services which exports wish to sell

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- Standards, technical regulations, SPS measures, conformity Assessment (SONCAP)
MANCAP.
(II) CAPACITY BUILDING AND ADVISORY SERVICES
- Redesign of products service or packaging
- Implementation of management systems (i.. quality, food safety environment)
- Facilitating consultancy services
- Capacity building services at national level
- Enhancing the National Quality infrastructure
- Counterpart for donor projects
OBTAINING AND DEMONSTRATING COMPLIANCE
- NEPC to act as facilitator between exporter and service providers such as Standards
Organisation of Nigeria and others
- SON providers calibration and conformity assessment services
- Inspection
- Testing
- Certification (product and systems)
No challenges so far since SON and NEPC are hosted by the same Federal Ministry of Commerce
and Industry. The collaboration between the two are not difficult at all.
VALUE ADDED THAT SON OFFERS TO NEPC
Value chin are utilized to address two keys issues in business development and trade
promotion:-
How to mobilize and work with the NACCIMA and MAN to promote development, reduce
poverty and shiff from supply side to demand side interventions.
How to support the productive activity of SMEDAN small producers and marginalized
populations in the contact of globalization.
In Nigeria, three generic valve chains agriculture, garment, manufacturing leather and
footwear manufacturing and tourism.
SON is mandated to ensure compliance of imported or locally products fertilizer and closely
involved at the cotton ginning stage.
SON to coordinate with information regarding the required market standards.

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SON offers training in ISO 9001 and iSO 14001 based quality and environmental management
systems and in market requirements such as traceability eco-labeling, social accountability is
require throughout the value chain.
Garment and Leather/footwear are potentially important area for SON and NEPC involvement
and collaboration.
Tourism is a multi-dimensional service industry, SON has a role to play in providing the supply
side of the tourism industry with standards information testing and certification.

MECHANISM EMPLOYED TO ESTABLISHED AN EFFECTIVE COOPERATION AND
WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH SONNEPC
The key strategy employed to establish an effective cooperation and working relationship
between SON and NEPC are as follows:-
(I) FORMALIZE THE COOPERATION
- Sign an initial MOU between the Chief Executive Officers of the SON and NEPC
committing to the pursuit of meaningful cooperation.
- Consider representation on each other boards or council, in full
- Consider full representation and active involvement in each others advisory forums.
- Establish and joint national working forum.
(ii) CULTIVATE PERSONAL CONTACTS
- Visit each organization to review its activities
- Send staff representative to the other Headquarter to short periods to familiarize with
issues and constraints and foster cooperation among staff at lower levels

(iii) TECHNICAL REGULATION AND MARKET FAILURES

- Develop closer cooperation between the SON and NEPC where the SON as custodian
of the National WTO enquiry Points can use the NEPC extensive contact and address
lists to raise industry awareness of technical regulations in target markets or with main
leading partners
(iv) TRAINGS WORKSHOP AND SEMINARS
- Organise workshop and /or seminar to sensitize manufacturers and supplier to quality
and technical regulations in target markets on sectoral basis
- Provide awareness and, where relevant training in HACCP, ISO/EC 17025, ISO 9001, ISO
14001 and ISO 22000 to manufacturers, suppliers, Laboratories.

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BENEFITS OF SON RELATIONSHIP WITH NEPC, EXPORTERS AMD POTENTIAL BUYER/INVESTORS
(1) Through the collaboration with NEPC, Exporters have their goods certified by SON.
(2) SON helps to eliminate some of the barriers associated with Exportation of goods. This
also services to boost the confidence imports have in Nigerian good. This also services
to boost the confidence imports have in Nigerian goods by believing that a competent
National body is in charge of certification of goods before they are exported. Goods
made in Nigeria can now have proudly Nigerian printed on it.
(3) SON has also put a national programme in place that ensures that all locally made goods
conform to the applicable national/international standard.
(4) It is everyones responsibility to work to achieve a better environment to enhance the
contribution of the non-oil exp[ort sub-sector to the national economy.
CONCLUSION
Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is in the best position to provide the much needed
information and support services to the Industries. It is basically due to the fact that standards
and certification are the central issues for the elimination of technical barriers to trade.
Generally, SON has the resources, networks and facilities to gain access to the most up to date
information on standards, certification and others.

SON also have the ready linkages with local industries and exporters, who are the eventual end-
users of this information. In addition, SON is the National Enquiry Point for trade related
technical barriers regulations under the arrangement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO),
Such arrangement further enhance the role of SON in providing the necessary advisory services
to exporters.
Consonant with the above, SON is likely to play the key role of facilitate the exchange of
information between member countries in WTO. This would contribute towards the
enhancement of international trade in line with the development of the free trade processing
zones by NEPZA. However, for the continued growth and development of Nigerian Industries,
particularly in the context of export trade, we have little choice but to quickly put in place a
comprehensive information strategy with the objective of providing the core of information
which Nigerian industries would require to make important business decisions as well as to
facilitate international trade.

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I conclude by reiterating appreciation to all of you who gave helped in the arrangements for
this national Workshop.
Thank you.

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