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.

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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. In March, 2024, SON released 80 newly approved standards for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles operation in Nigeria.

Year	Name
1971-1985	Mr. D. O. Ogun, Director General/Chief Executive, SON
1985-1990	Col A. D. Etuk Udo, Director General/Chief Executive, SON
1990	Col R. G. Pollit, Director General/Chief Executive, SON
1990-2000	Prof Joseph Ahmadu Abalaka, Director General/Chief Executive, SON
2000-2001	Prof Tseaa Shambe Cchem FRSC, Director General/Chief Executive, SON
2001-2011	Dr John Ndanusa Akanya OON, Director General/Chief Executive, SON
2011-2016	Dr Joseph Ikemefuna Odumodu MFR, Director General/Chief Executive, SON
2016-2020	Osita. A. Aboloma, Esq, Director General/Chief Executive, SON
2020-2023	Mallam Farouk A. Salim, Director General/Chief Executive, SON
2023-present	Dr. Ifeanyi C Okeke, Director General/Chief Executive, SON

Initiatives

SON Conformity Assessment Programme : A programme that ensures imported products meet Nigerian standards and regulations before shipment.
The Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme for locally manufactured products.