Over 220 Nigerian Products Now Certified For AfCFTA Market — SON

More than 220 products from 131 Nigerian companies are now certified to adopted African Standards, positioning them to compete under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The director-general of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, disclosed this in a statement marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.

Okeke said Nigeria recently received the ARSO Quality Mark Award from the African Organisation for Standardisation, a recognition he said reflects growing alignment of Nigerian products with continental quality benchmarks.

According to him, the certification is a strategic step to make Nigerian goods competitive beyond the domestic market, particularly under the AfCFTA framework where standards compliance determines market access.

He said the agency had, in the last three years, rolled out 62 new Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) and adopted Codex standards for local agricultural products such as root and tuber flours to support value addition and export readiness.

Okeke noted that enforcement of NIS is helping to translate macroeconomic reforms into real stability for businesses and consumers, in line with this year’s anniversary theme: ‘From Reforms to Stability: Consolidating Nigeria’s Renewed Hope for Shared Prosperity.’

Okeke said, “A nation cannot consume its way to greatness; it must produce its way there. However, production without standardisation is an exercise in futility.”

He described substandard products as a drain on national resources, a threat to public safety and a dent on the country’s image in international markets.

He said SON had also strengthened its quality infrastructure to support small businesses, with new State Office and Laboratory Complexes in Minna and Sokoto to bring testing and calibration services closer to producers and cut costly delays.

On the digital front, the agency launched a Digital Standards Platform (DSP) to improve nationwide access to standards, alongside the Electronic Product Identification Scheme (e-PIS), the Product Identification Scheme (PIS) and the Special Economic Zones Conformity Assessment Programme (SEZCAP) to track products along the value chain.

Okeke said SON had also rebranded and tightened its Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) logo and inspection process, and commissioned a 200kW solar power system at its laboratory complex in Ogba, Lagos to keep laboratories running round the clock.

He, however, called for stronger collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Ports Authority and security agencies to share real-time market intelligence, urging manufacturers not to compromise on quality, traders to reject fake goods, and Nigerians to patronise locally made products.