Abaloma urges stakeholders to support SON’s SME drive

Bar Anthony Osita Abaloma, Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has called on all stakeholders to join the agency in its initiatives of driving standards through involving the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country achieve its aim.
Abaloma who stated this over the weekend in Lagos during the 2016 World’s Standards Day at the National Technology Incubation Centre (NTIC), with the theme “Standards Build Trust”, noted that meeting consumers’ expectations, safeguarding lives and boosting the economy of the country was a necessity.

He assured stakeholders the centre that SON would lay emphasis on standards that have the capacity to strengthen their products, make it more competitive, and spur Nigeria’s economic development, urging them to support the drive of the agency.

Earlier in his speech, Mr Abiola Komolafe, Director of Standards, SON, described the day as special, adding that standards make everyday life easy and safe.

He said; “It is also a tool of development, and that the SON had developed thousands standards applicable to different sectors of the economy, adding that the agency had also organised series of seminars and workshops tailed to sensitising and educating Nigerians on the imperative and importance of standards. Standards not only lead to productivity but also to the quality of life.”
Komolafe called on Nigerians to join hands with the SON in optimising the benefits of standards, stressing that it is one way of encouraging the nation’s developmental expertise.

Julie Momah, the Centre manger of Technology Incubation Centre commended SON for collaborating with the centre in celebrating the 2016 World Standard Day, explaining that standards were the basic requirement for products development globally.

“Standards helps fuel compatibility and interoperability and simplifies products development, and speeds time-to-market. Standards also make it easier to understand and compare competing products. As standards are globally adopted and applied in many markets, they also fuel international trade.
“It is only through the use of standards that the requirements of interconnectivity and interoperability can be assured. It is only through the application of standards that the credibility of new products and new markets can be verified.”