One year after it was ousted from operating inside the ports, the Senate Committee on Industry on Monday, called on the federal government to reinstate the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) into the ports.
The chairman of the committee, Sam Egwu, made the call during an oversight function to SON’s offices and laboratories in Lagos.
Egwu  said the absence of the agency was greatly felt at the ports and called on stakeholders in the sector to begin facilitating its return.
He said as a large scale importing country, Nigeria must have its standard organisation at the nation’s points of entry, in order to ascertain the quality of goods coming in.
Egwu said it was necessary for the agency to have first-hand access to evaluating the goods arriving the country before being allowed into the markets.
“We have observed some products come into the country from countries that do not have standards all cloned with SON logo. This is certainly not good for the Nigerian economy
“The discovery by the SON deterred such goods from getting into the hands of unsuspecting consumers,” he said.
He commended the agency in its fight to combat fake and substandard goods, and restated the committee’s support.
“From what I have seen so far, I want to say that they have impressed us as a committee with their efforts to ensure that products are being standardised.
He said it was necessary for the agency to have first-hand information on goods berthing on the shores of the country before being allowed into the markets.
“We cannot overemphasis the issue of standardisation, because it is the core for every manufacturing output. We are not happy that SON has not been allowed to operate at its maximum capacity,” Egwu said