By Rita Iliya
The Niger Governor’s Wife, Hajiya Fatima Bago, has lauded the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) for its sustained efforts in enhancing the quality of locally-manufactured goods in the state.
Bago made the commendation when she received a delegation from SON, led by the agency’s State Coordinator, Hajiya Hauwa Nuhu, which paid a visit to her office at the Government House, Minna, on Wednesday.
She said that the organisation’s interventions had significantly enhanced product certification and standardisation among local entrepreneurs.
She recalled a programme organised by a commercial bank for entrepreneurs shortly after her assumption of office, where various locally-made products were showcased.
The governor’s wife said there was remarkable improvement in product certification over the past few years, with even small-scale products now meeting required standards.
“Today, even products such as zobo are certified.
“This is a great achievement and I urge entrepreneurs to continue to uphold product standards for the safety of our health,” she said.
She expressed readiness to push for the State Government to strengthen collaboration with SON to further boost local production in the state, saying her office remained open for support.
Earlier, Nuhu said that the visit was to commiserate with the State Government and its people over the recent spate of kidnappings, describing the incidents as distressing to Nigerians.
“We were very prayerful. Since the incident started, we joined the governor to pray for their release.
“We were emotionally distressed, but we are happy the children are back home,” she said.
Nuhu further said that the visit was also to appreciate the governor’s wife for her “doggedness, resilience and motherly role during the period”, and to brief her on SON’s activities in the state.
She said that SON’s core mandate is to ensure quality assurance and standardisation of products and services, as well as enforce compliance with approved standards.
“Our work is broad. We check quality of products and services, elaborate standards and enforce their use.
“That is why we have the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme and the SON Conformity Assessment Programme,” she said.
Nuhu also said that SON had made significant impact on entrepreneurship, particularly among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and certified more than 300 locally produced MSME products in the state.
“Some of these entrepreneurs, because of the visibility we give them, now have products competing in the international market,” she said.
She disclosed that SON had issued marks of quality to locally produced goods, adding that three products from Niger had gained international competitiveness and received SME awards. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Fatima Sule Abdullahi/Sam Oditah
