SON pushes for improved collaboration to strengthen trade standards

Stanley Ihedigbo

In a bid to boost Nigeria’s trade sector, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has emphasized the need for robust collaboration with stakeholders to enhance trade standards.

Director General, SON, Ifeanyi Okeke at the 2025 edition of the World Standards Day themed “Shared vision for a better world,  spotlight on the Sustainable Development Goal 17” celebration in Lagos, said 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 compelling, noting that it reinforces the fact that sustainable development cannot be achieved by any single institution.

“Collaboration, cooperation, and 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.

“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.

“So we need that support, we need that collaboration internationally for imported products,” he added.

To boost export of locally produced goods, the Director General said, “We have the SONEXCAP, which is our certification programme for exports. Nigeria cannot just continue dwelling on imports.

“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 for other countries with the SONEXCAP certification, those products can be accepted in most countries, especially in Africa, because of the African free trade area agreement.

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

“This means that any products that leave Nigeria for other African countries will be wholeheartedly accepted,” he averred.