The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigeria Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have advised manufacturers and those importing goods into the country to seek their guidance in order to transact on goods that meet with internationally recognized standards.

These agencies gave this advice during the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) "International Business Conference & Expo 2024, Invest Nigeria."

The Director, Lagos Region, SON, Mrs. Theressa Ojomo, who represented SON at the conference, said: "If you want to import or export in Nigeria, you should look at the Nigeria Industrial Standard to be sure that your processes of production meet the requirements of the standard. So that your products can go to anywhere in the international markets because with harmonisation of standards you can move your products anywhere."

Ojomo said that SON sets the standards for manufactured products that are consumed in Nigeria and took them for harmonisation the International Organisation for Standards (IOS).

Similarly, the Director, NAFDAC, Southwest Zone, Mrs. Roseline Ajayi, said that NAFDAC has the World Health Organisation's (WHO) certification that enable products it certified in Nigeria to be traded all over the world.

Ajayi said: "The WHO has judged NAFDAC to be stable and competent to regulate the category of products that we regulate here and deemed them fit to circulate all over the world. That is where we are positioned. We have international food management system and we also have drug safety structure in place.

"For your information, NAFDAC does not conduct inspections only locally. We have overseas inspections. NAFDAC established the Institute of Foreign Inspection because we want to visit these facilities to be sure. We go for inspections even in Europe and USA. It is not only in Africa countries that we go to inspect their facilities or review their products and subject them to regulatory standards."