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Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, has commenced the registration of consultants and practitioners relating to conformity assessment.
The exercise, called National Register for Conformity Assessment Practitioners, NRCAP, will ensure sustenance of continuity in all sectors of the economy and also allow global standard in the areas of certification.
Director General and Chief Executive Officer, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, disclosed this while speaking at the stakeholders’ engagement forum, said: “The lack of regulations of the activities of practitioners over the years has negatively impacted the Industry and the country significantly.
“This will help to establish a directory of verified and registered Conformity Assessment Practitioners in Nigeria for all laboratories, management system consultants, training service providers, certification bodies, inspection bodies, inspectors, auditors and assessors.
“Some of the ways lack of registration has negatively impacted the country include: poor protection of genuine practitioners from the negative impacts of unhealthy competition by quacks and poor visibility and recognition of genuine.
“It has negatively impacted on poor value for money for unsuspecting customers patronizing quacks who deliver poor service.
“Also, unavailability of an official register of competent practitioners to aid national planning and coordination of economic activities that border on standardisation and quality assurance.”
Salim added that the registration process would no doubt, strengthen the mutual responsibility they shared as partners in the task of nation building and position their businesses for better visibility and recognition.
Also, Chief Consultant for Top three Concept Nigeria Limited, Bode Oke, said: “Once we have registered practitioners, quacks will not be able to operate. We are pledging support for the DG of SON. We will support the program and make it work.
Another Consultant in the Quality Management System practitioner, Mrs. Patricia Solarin, also said: “What SON is trying to do here is to register not only consultants but auditors. When you register auditors, you will cut down quacks.”
“There are so many briefcase carrying consultants that are working around who didn’t pass their audit test and extermination. With the registration, people are not shortchanged and the sky is the limit for standardization in Nigeria,” Solarin submitted.
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