The Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Oyo State Office, on Thursday embarked on sensitisation of manufacturers, market men and women, and others about the importance of product standard compliance.

The sensitisation took SON officials round Ibadan metropolis, starting from its office at Bodija.

The Oyo State SON Coordinator, Eyitayo Akanbi, said the road walk sensitisation was organised by the organisation in commemoration of the 2024 World Standards Day.

The 2024 World Standards Day had the theme “Share Vision for a Better World: Spotlight on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure in the Age of AI.”

Mr Akanbi said the sensitisation was for stakeholders, consumers and manufacturers of all products except drugs.

He said, “World Standards Day is celebrated in October globally. Nigeria is part of the international bodies that deal with standardisation; so, today we are walking all around Ibadan to celebrate the day.’’

Mr Akanbi advised Nigerians to patronise only products with Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme certification, saying they were certified fit for use.

“We are also sensitising supermarkets to let them know that they can’t sell made-in-Nigeria products without MANCAP certification. Every locally-made product must undergo the certification, after which we give them the certification logo and number; so, when you see the logo, know that the product is quality. Therefore, Nigerians should buy only products that have the MANCAP logo on them. The level of compliance by manufacturers now is high because we are doing a lot of sensitisation,” Mr Akanbi said.

Mr Akanbi quoted the SON Director-General, Ifeanyi Okeke, as saying that SON developed standards that would drive innovation and ensure that Nigerian businesses could compete well with their international counterparts.

He also quoted Mr Okeke as saying that SON adopted international standards for compressed natural gas products to support the success of the federal government’s CNG initiative.

According to him, as a member of the committee developing the natural gas vehicles monitoring system, SON oversees the implementation of CNG systems in vehicles to ensure the use of quality products in Nigeria.

“Together, we can build a world with resilient infrastructure, sustainable industrial growth, and cutting-edge innovation powered by artificial intelligence, with international standards,” he said.

(NAN)