As part of its quest to improve operational expertise in product standardisation, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has charged its personnel on consolidating on market surveillance processes.
This was the crux of a special training session on capacity building organised recently by the agency in Kwara State. The event which was meant to cover for the North Central region of the agency had all the State Heads and their desk officers for Market Surveillance in the region in attendance.
While addressing participants, its Director General/Chief Executive, Osita Aboloma, who was represented by the Regional Coordinator (North Central), Charles Nwagbara, said the seminar was strategic to improve competences that would drive activities on product standardisation, quality assurance, metrology and other services. The participants at the seminar were offered the opportunity to improve operational knowledge, skills and learning experience on market surveillance process in consolidation of systemic approach to actualisation of the mandates and objectives of the agency, as contained in SON Act, 2015.
“Market surveillance is a coordinated stealth operation that involves planning, sampling, laboratory testing/analysis, methodology, data management, validation, analysis and reporting on local and imported products from the market, ships, warehouses and other market sources. It is targeted to ensure that local and imported products in the market conform with the Nigerian industrial standard (NIS) requirements on quality and safety.
“This seminar is expected to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the market surveillance, application of monitoring and evaluation, data analysis to support further actions. Market surveillance is a strategic, preventive and intelligent investigation to identify and deal with fake, adulterated and substandard products, and allow the genuine MANCAP/SONCAP certified products to compete in the market,” he said.
Similarly, the Southwest edition of the event was held in Ibadan, Oyo state, recently.