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By Merit Ibe
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has reaffirmed its commitment to product quality, consumer protection and industrial growth as its Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) marked 20 years of promoting standards in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector.
The Director-General of SON, Dr Ifeanyi Okeke, gave the assurance at the 2026 National MANCAP Quality Award Ceremony held in Lagos yesterday, urging manufacturers to sustain compliance with standards, regulators to ensure consistent enforcement and consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.
Okeke described the anniversary as an opportunity to celebrate two decades of promoting excellence, building confidence in Nigerian-made products and recognising manufacturers committed to quality.
He said the ceremony was not merely an anniversary celebration but a recognition of the contributions of Nigerian manufacturers to the country’s industrial development.
“We are not just having an anniversary, but celebrating a legacy, recognising excellence and reaffirming our commitment to quality as the foundation of national development,” he said.
Introduced on February 1, 2006, MANCAP is SON’s mandatory certification scheme for locally manufactured products. It is designed to ensure that products comply with relevant Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS), protect consumers from substandard and unsafe goods, promote fair competition and support economic diversification.
Okeke disclosed that the programme had recorded significant growth, with between 7,000 and 8,000 products certified from 8,634 companies.
He said the figures reflected the programme’s contribution to quality assurance and the development of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector.
According to him, MANCAP certification involves factory inspections to verify that manufacturers comply with applicable standards and maintain the required production processes.
He said the scheme had helped strengthen confidence in locally manufactured products while encouraging businesses to make quality an integral part of their operations.
The SON boss urged manufacturers and other stakeholders to sustain the progress recorded and work towards a future in which quality becomes a defining feature of Nigerian manufacturing.
He said the organisation would continue to strengthen conformity assessment, support manufacturers and promote an environment where Nigerian products could compete confidently in domestic and international markets.
Achieving this, he added, required collective responsibility, with manufacturers maintaining standards, regulators ensuring fair and consistent enforcement, and consumers demanding quality and making informed choices.
The ceremony also recognised manufacturers that had maintained MANCAP certification for 10, 15 and 20 years, rewarding their consistency and commitment to quality assurance.
Okeke said the award recipients had demonstrated that quality was more than a regulatory requirement, describing it as a sustained business responsibility that builds consumer trust and creates lasting value.
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Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Chris Osa Isokpunwu, said the anniversary offered an opportunity to strengthen confidence in Nigerian-made products and improve their competitiveness in domestic and international markets.
He noted that MANCAP had expanded considerably since its introduction in 2006, when 1,930 products were certified, underscoring the growing importance of product certification to Nigeria’s industrial development.
Isokpunwu urged manufacturers to integrate quality into every stage of production rather than regard compliance with standards as a mere regulatory obligation.
He said the theme of this year’s celebration, “Building Trust in Quality and Safety Ecosystems,” captured a fundamental requirement for sustainable industrial development.
According to him, trust is essential for competitive businesses, confident consumers and credible markets, adding that every stakeholder must contribute to making quality and safety non-negotiable priorities.
He said the government’s policy direction was to make quality a driver of industrial growth rather than merely a compliance requirement.
This, he explained, would require strengthening Nigeria’s quality infrastructure, improving coordination among institutions responsible for standards and certification, and ensuring that manufacturers had access to the technical support needed to meet applicable market requirements.
“Our objective is to build an industrial sector in which Nigerian products compete in quality, safety, reliability and value, while consumers are protected and compliant manufacturers are rewarded,” he said.
He added that achieving this objective was essential to expanding local production, attracting investment, creating jobs and growing non-oil industries.
Earlier, the Head of the MANCAP Division, National Product Certification Department of SON, Engr Ayodele Akinware, described the programme as a guarantee that locally manufactured products met the required standards.
He said every product manufactured in Nigeria must comply with the relevant Nigerian Industrial Standard before it could be sold, explaining that MANCAP provided consumers with assurance that certified products had undergone the necessary quality checks.
Akinware said the programme had evolved significantly since its launch in 2006, with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Act 2015 strengthening its legal framework.
He added that its implementation had expanded across the country and that the programme now covered six major sectors: food; chemicals; electrical and electronics; mechanical products; civil and construction materials; and textiles and leather products.
According to him, MANCAP certification provides manufacturers with a quality benchmark and gives consumers greater confidence when purchasing locally made products.
He urged award recipients to sustain the standards that earned them recognition, noting that certification served as reassurance to consumers that products had been assessed for compliance.
The 20th anniversary celebration reaffirmed SON’s commitment to promoting quality, strengthening consumer protection and enhancing the competitiveness of Nigerian-made products.
