FG LAUNCHES DIGITAL STANDARDS PORTAL TO TRANSFORM MADE IN NIGERIA PRODUCTS
Federal Government unveils Digital Standards Platform aimed at transforming Nigeria’s quality infrastructure, improving access to industrial standards, strengthening public procurement and boosting the competitiveness of Made-in-Nigeria products.
The Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh while unveiling the platform described the initiative as a landmark reform that would deepen industrialisation, improve the ease of doing business and strengthen the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s Nigeria First Policy.
The platform, jointly developed by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, the Bureau of Public Procurement and private technology firm, Goringo Consult Limited, is expected to digitise access to Nigerian Industrial Standards, certification services and compliance tools while making quality verification easier for manufacturers, businesses, procurement officers and consumers.
According to the Minister, the initiative also introduces a major procurement reform, as the Nigerian Industrial Standards Attestation Certificate, obtainable through the platform, has now become a mandatory bid document for all Federal Government procurement involving goods, works and services where Nigerian Industrial Standards apply.
Enoh stated that the platform aligned directly with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigeria First Policy, adding that local products would only enjoy patronage if consumers had confidence in their quality.
Dr Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, DG Standard Organization of Nigeria explained that the platform would also improve consumer confidence by making it easier to identify genuine manufacturers and eliminate counterfeit products from the market.
He said, “For the first time, Nigerians can conveniently verify the certification status of products before making purchasing decisions, identify genuine SON-certified manufacturers and obtain reliable information from a single trusted platform.
The DG said Another major benefit of the Digital Standards Platform is that it provides Nigerians with affordable access to internationally recognised standards. Leveraging SON’s subscriptions and copyright licensing arrangements with international standards organisations, the Platform enables users to purchase selected adopted international standards at up to 35 per cent below the original acquisition cost.”
He said, “For the first time, Nigerians can conveniently verify the certification status of products before making purchasing decisions, identify genuine SON-certified manufacturers and obtain reliable information from a single trusted platform. This will promote informed patronage of quality-assured products, strengthen consumer confidence, improve market transparency, support due diligence during procurement and contribute significantly to the elimination of counterfeit, unsafe and substandard products from the Nigerian marketplace.” Okeke stressed that the platform would play a critical role in implementing the Nigeria First Policy.
“If Nigeria must buy Nigerian first, then Nigerian products must be worthy of being bought first and demonstrably so. Standards are how a nation keeps that promise to itself. By lowering the cost and complexity of compliance, the Platform will help our micro, small and medium enterprises formalise, certify and compete. A standard that is easy to access is a standard that is easy to meet, and a product that meets our standards at home is a product ready for the continental and global marketplace,” he added.
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Adebowale Adedokun, also speaking said the platform would fundamentally change how government purchases goods and services by embedding quality standards into procurement processes. He described public procurement as one of the government’s strongest economic policy instruments.
Adedokun disclosed that Nigerian Industrial Standards would soon be fully integrated into the Bureau’s e-Marketplace, enabling ministries, departments and agencies to identify and procure verified local products with confidence.
He said, “In the coming months, Nigerian Industrial Standards will be fully integrated into the Bureau’s e-Marketplace for Made-in-Nigeria goods and services. Once that happens, procuring entities, contractors, consultants and suppliers will be able to identify, compare, benchmark prices and procure verified, standards-compliant local products and services with confidence.”
He further announced that the Nigerian Industrial Standards Attestation Certificate had become compulsory for federal procurement.
The Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Jobson Ewalefoh, described the project as one of the first Public-Private Partnership projects delivered under the commission’s revised PPP guidelines. He said the platform demonstrated the success of reforms introduced to simplify infrastructure partnerships and commended Goringo Consult Limited for delivering the project.
“With this launch, the NIS Attestation Certificate obtained via the Digital Standards Platform becomes a mandatory bid document and evaluation requirement for all Federal Government procurement involving goods, works and services with applicable Nigerian Industrial Standards.
