Standards Organisation of Nigeria

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria is the main statutory body responsible for standardising and regulating the quality of all products in Nigeria. It was established under Enabling Act Number 56 of December 1971, although it started functioning January 1, 1970. The Act has been amended thrice: Act Number 20 of 1976, Act Number 32 of 1984 and Act Number 18 of 1990. Standards Organisation of Nigeria is a member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

Functions and mandate
The functions of SON includes but are not limited to the following:


 * certifying products
 * creating policies for production quality of goods and services
 * assessing quality assurance activities, including certification of systems, products and laboratories throughout Nigeria
 * designating, approving and declaring standards in respect of metrology, materials, commodities, structures and processes.
 * certifying commercial and industrial products throughout Nigeria
 * registering and regulating standard marks and specifications etc.
 * investigating product quality
 * enforcing standards and sanctioning violators
 * compiling inventory of products in Nigeria requiring standardization
 * monitoring the standard of imported and exported products
 * improving measurement accuracies and circulation of information relating to standards

Establishment
SON was established under Enabling Act Number 56 of December 1971, although it started functioning January 1, 1970. The Act has been amended thrice: Act Number 20 of 1976, Act Number 32 of 1984 and Act Number 18 of 1990. SON is a member of the International Organization for Standardization.

History

 * At the 50th anniversary of the agency, the Director General of the Organization announced that the agency has adopted 213 Nigerian Industrial Standards to put proliferation of fake products in check.