The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has presented 207 Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) certificates to 117 companies covering 449 products in Lagos, as part of efforts to strengthen product quality and protect consumers from substandard goods.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony on Wednesday, the SON Director-General, Dr Ifeanyi Okeke, said MANCAP was a mandatory product certification scheme designed to ensure that locally manufactured products conformed to the relevant Nigerian Industrial Standards before being placed on the market or exported.
Okeke, who was represented by a Director in the organisation, Mrs Teresa Ojomo, said SON would conduct periodic factory inspections, product sampling and laboratory testing following the issuance of the certificates to ensure continued compliance with required standards.
He added that the certificates would remain valid for three years, stressing that products that failed to meet the minimum Nigerian Industrial Standards would be suspended, withdrawn or subjected to a fresh certification process.
According to him, MANCAP certification would enhance efficiency, improve product quality, create growth opportunities and enable manufacturers to meet consumers’ expectations.
“It will also encourage continual improvement in production processes and promote global competitiveness amongst domestic manufacturers,” he said.
The SON State Coordinator, Lagos Office II, Maryrose Ugwueche, said the ceremony was organised to recognise companies whose products had met the Nigerian Industrial Standards and to showcase the certified products to members of the public.
Ugwueche said the initiative would also help increase patronage of certified products by making consumers aware of manufacturers whose products had undergone the required quality assessment.
She explained that, in addition to the certificate, certified products were issued a unique MANCAP logo and number, which consumers could use to identify products that had been tested and confirmed fit for their intended purpose.
A recipient, Abiola Falowo, Managing Director of MAEG Production Factory Limited, expressed satisfaction with the certification, saying it demonstrated that his factory had met the required Nigerian Industrial Standards.
Falowo said the company produced toilet rolls and tissue papers using 100 per cent imported natural virgin pulp without chemicals or bleach, adding that the raw materials were selected to ensure the products did not negatively affect consumers.
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Also speaking, Mr Samson Oyejide of Somotex Nigeria Limited, said MANCAP had helped to reduce the proliferation of counterfeit products by providing manufacturers and consumers with a clear quality benchmark.
Oyejide said the presence of the MANCAP logo on products gave consumers greater confidence that such products had met the required quality standards and were not fake.
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