13 years after, FG asked to reverse SON’s eviction from ports

Stakeholders have called on the federal government to reverse its directive on the eviction of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) from the ports.

The federal government in 2011, through the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had announced the eviction of the agencies operating at the seaports.

She said the decision was to fast-track port processes at the time the ports were battling congestion, and delays in cargo clearing, which were hindering the ease of doing business policy.

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But experts, including industry experts, government representatives and private sector stakeholders have declared that the directive issued 13 years ago to evict SON from the ports in an attempt to enhance ease of doing business should be reversed.

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This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a one-day national conference on the Building/Construction Sector organised by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment held recently in Abuja.

The communiqué was signed by the Director-General of SON, Dr Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke.

The theme of the conference was ‘Adherence to Standard Practices: Bedrock of Sustainable Development in the Building/Construction Sector’. 

The stakeholders maintained that SON cannot be issuing the Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) certificates without being at the ports to inspect and test materials imported for the construction and other sectors.

“The conference declared that the directive issued 13 years ago to evict SON from the ports in an attempt to enhance ease of doing business should be reversed.

“This has become necessary because SON cannot be issuing the Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) certificates without being at the ports to inspect and test materials imported for the construction and other sectors,” it stated.

The conference called on the National Assembly to pass the National Building Code, which had been on the shelves for years, into law as part of efforts to stem building collapse.

It observed that rapid urbanisation and rising population had placed immense demands on every infrastructure, making the building construction industry both an opportunity and a challenge.

The conference also observed that Nigeria’s growing population required rapid increase in affordable housing, which brings with it the challenge of meeting demand without compromising on quality. 

It observed that “in spite of many sensitization and awareness campaigns carried out by SON, many industry stakeholders and practitioners still lack awareness of the standards required for safe, durable and sustainable buildings.”