Senate Pledges To Support SON, Lauds ARSO

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Nigerian Senate has applauded the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) for its efforts in harmonising standards to facilitate intra trade in African.

Leading the Nigerian delegation to the ARSO Technical Harmonisation Committee (THC) on Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (ARSO/THC 05) in Kenya, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Industry, Mr Sam Egwu, however, urged ARSO to engage and involve governments and lawmakers in the work of the organisation to enhance laws that would ensure maximum institutional support for the work of National Standards Bodies (NSBs).

He pointed out that implementation of standards without compliance will make it remain a mere literature on the shelves of the libraries of National Standards Bodies (NSBs).

He thereafter made a commitment that the Senate would use its position to support SON in achieving its mandates.

Business Post reports that the harmonization process, which is by consensus and other principles of standardisation, is aimed at having common standards in order to remove all technical barriers to trade to facilitate intra African trade.

The THC 05 has a current membership of 17 countries, with SON as Chair and Secretary.

The significance is that the requirements of the standards will become uniform and acceptable in conformity assessment applications in all member countries of ARSO in Africa, ie, common standards in Africa but nationalized to bear the countries’ names.

It was gathered that the Senate was part of the programme to observe the proceedings of the meeting in the harmonization of African standards to enhance their understanding of the processes to enhance their oversight functions on SON and support the enactment of laws to promote the competitiveness of locally manufactured products and elimination of substandard imported products as enforced by the agency.

Responding, the Secretary General of ARSO Dr Hermogene, thanked Mr Egwu for the visit, which he said was in line with the quest of the organisation in seeking the support of governments of member states and lawmakers in the implementation of standards.

The ARSO meeting in Kenya precisely took place at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi.

During the trip to Kenya, the delegation paid a courtesy call to Kenyan Bureau of Standards (KEBS).

Senator Barnabas Gemade and the Director General of SON, Osita Aboloma, were also part of the team.